Chapter 1277: A Contest of Willpower

When the Mandarin Duck Formation of Liangzhou arrived on the scene, Rumyantsev immediately ordered the Cossack Cavalry to withdraw.

But during this interval, the Spearman units of Liangzhou, specifically designed to counter cavalry, along with the Mandarin Duck Formation, had already reaped the heads of many Cossack Cavalry. Fortunately, they retreated quite quickly, and next, the Russian Army's famous infantry took the stage. These infantrymen wore quite thick armor; in the most savage era of Tsarist Russia, these infantrymen would hold a shield in one hand and a hammer in the other. Because their individual combat strength was extremely formidable, they emphasized ferocity when fighting like this.

Ferocity.

The ferocious Russians, facing the well-disciplined Longyan army, were destined for a battle of equals.

Over a hundred thousand men against over a hundred thousand men.

It must be said that this war would be the largest and most tragic battle Longyan had seen in the last few hundred years.

The responsibility the cavalry automatically assumed at this time was to conduct flanking strikes.

The true battlefield remained a contest between the infantry.

A slash from you, a thrust from me.

I use a blade to hack through your armor, you use a spear to pierce my vambrace.

Under these circumstances, even the Cannon became useless.

Tsarist Russia was the side that initiated the all-out attack. For the soldiers of the Russian Army, they had stayed in Longyan for too long, so they did not want to continue; everyone missed home and wanted to end this war as soon as possible to go home and see their wives and children.

But for the soldiers of Longyan, Yanqi City was something they could not abandon under any circumstances. If it were abandoned, the Northwest gate of Longyan would be completely opened, and the common people, wives, and children behind them would suffer persecution. Therefore, their decision to leave the city to meet the enemy this time was a final, desperate act.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The morale of both sides was extremely high; their faces were ferocious, and they no longer feared life or death in their eyes.

Kill!

No one knew how long this war would last. They only knew that as the war continued, severed limbs and wreckage began to fly everywhere, and the foul-smelling blood began to flow in all directions, even starting to hinder the pace of those charging to kill.

"This Zou Sheng..."

Rumyantsev took a deep breath.

He truly had not expected before that this Zou Sheng would be so reckless. As expected, a young man is a young man... He actually dared to gamble on this one-percent probability!

Of course, this was also what Rumyantsev considered the most difficult approach for them.

Just like that, it was chosen by Zou Sheng.

He could not help but smile bitterly. Now, this Zou Sheng was no longer his "student"; he could already be called his equal—no, he should be even stronger than him. Because if it were him, he would not have dared to adopt such a risky encounter battle outside the city.

"Marshal... what should we do now?"

The subordinate generals had also not expected such a thing to happen.

They looked at each other in dismay.

This sudden turn of events rendered the Siege Engine and Cannon they had prepared completely useless.

Rumyantsev took a deep breath: "It depends on the willpower of our soldiers!"

Yes.

He was still quite confident in the individual combat strength of the Russian Army soldiers.

But the battlefield is like this; having strong combat strength alone is not enough. What is more important is willpower! The reason he had such worries was, first, that the Russian Army's food supplies had been insufficient recently, and many soldiers were going to the battlefield on empty stomachs, which was a huge blow to morale. Second, the Longyan people were fighting a desperate battle with their coffins in tow this time. He also knew that although the individual combat strength of the Longyan people could not compare to the Russian Army, their resilience was quite strong.

Therefore, at this moment, what was being tested was the willpower of the Russian Army soldiers.

Sure enough.

The

first day of fighting ended in a stalemate.

The melee between the two sides was tragic to the point of being unbearable to watch. When the sky turned dark and both sides sounded the gongs to retreat, thirty thousand corpses were left on the field alone!

Thirty thousand corpses!

Even if people stood there and let you kill them, how long would it take!

"How is the food supply?"

Rumyantsev's expression was somewhat grave.

The deputy general beside him said: "Marshal, the Scout reports that a large batch of food will arrive tonight!"

Only then did Rumyantsev heave a sigh of relief: "Convey this good news to every camp!"

"Yes!"

Rumyantsev had not expected the situation on the first day to become so white-hot. He had originally thought that the Russian Army would have some advantage, but clearly, the Longyan people were truly not afraid of death when they fought. On the first day, they lost sixteen thousand, and Longyan lost fourteen thousand... the number of wounded was countless.

Terrifying.

Rumyantsev had an ominous premonition in his heart.

If this continued, the first to have their mentality collapse would be their Russian Army.

"It's difficult..."

He could not help but let out a long sigh.

Tonight, he really wanted to send a letter to Peter to end this war just like this... If so, he could still bring his two hundred thousand troops back alive. But if it continued, the outcome would be uncertain... However, he knew Peter's character; once he decided on something, ten horses could not pull him back.

He could only hold on.

Once the food arrived, everything would be easier to handle.

At least morale could be stabilized.

"Tell the soldiers in every camp, as long as we can take Yanqi, there will be rewards, big rewards!"

Rumyantsev ordered.

Immediately, the entire camp began to cheer and jump for joy.

He could only do this; this was a battle without any overt or covert schemes, and without any other methods.

It was a true contest of combat strength.

Well then, under heavy rewards, there must be brave men!

He could only push what he could do to the limit! As for fate, he could only leave it to fate.

……

Meanwhile, the Longyan soldiers who returned to Yanqi City were in high spirits.

"We won!"

"Won!"

"Facts have proven that these Russians are not as terrifying as all that!"

"Hahahaha! Fuck them to death, fuck them to death!"

Today's combat loss ratio favored Longyan, and the boost this gave to the troops' morale was significant. Once upon a time, wherever the Tsarist Russia soldiers went, they were the symbol of invincibility and a naturally martial race, but today, here at Longyan, they didn't gain any advantage at all!

The Longyan people are truly ruthless.

When they had weapons, they fought with weapons; when they had no weapons, they fought with their hands and bit with their mouths, using every possible means. Who wouldn't be afraid of this fighting spirit?

Watching the cheering soldiers, Zou Sheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, for the first day, they had not lost the battle.

But what about afterwards?

At this moment, everyone's nerves were taut.

They were afraid that once broken, the army would collapse like a mountain.

He felt that one still shouldn't be so optimistic. Recent pop-ups are severe, please click to download to avoid pop-ups.