Chapter 57: One-Sided Slaughter

  "Hoofbeats thundered!" A large number of cavalrymen galloped wildly on the simple road across the grassland, and from the sky above, it looked like a black line rapidly extending southward. These cavalrymen were the Qinghai troops who set out from Maqin to rush south to rescue Yushu.

  "Let's brothers add more strength, strive to arrive in Yushu tomorrow!" Gu Hongqiang commanded the troops who were advancing at high speed on horseback. Since departing from Maqu, he had ordered the troops to march at their highest speed, although everyone was already extremely exhausted, but the battle situation in Yushu was urgent, not a moment could be delayed! Everyone also deeply understood Gu Hongqiang's anxious mood.

  "Brother Gu, ahead of us is the Wild Ox Gorge, the terrain is treacherous, we must be careful! If the Sichuan army has set an ambush here, we'll be in trouble!" reminded Lu Yuanqing, the commander of the 9th battalion of the Green Horse Army.

  "Lao Lü, you're thinking too much. After we received the news, we rushed here immediately, and it's only been a day or two. How could the Western Sichuan Army possibly capture Yushu and set up an ambush here? Yushu has at least 5,000 people, and it shouldn't be a problem to hold off the Western Sichuan Army for a day or two. When the time comes, we'll take advantage of the Western Sichuan Army and the Yushu garrison being exhausted from fighting, and launch a surprise attack from behind. We'll definitely be able to defeat them in one blow! And when that happens, everyone will share the credit together - I, Gu Hongqiang, am not someone who eats alone!" Gu Hongqiang said with a pat on his chest.

  "Brother Gu, let's be careful, why don't we send a portion of our troops to scout ahead and make sure it's safe before we pass through?" Lyu Yuancheng said cautiously.

  "Do we have to be so troublesome? Wasting a little more time, the Jade Tree side will have an extra danger. It's better for us to pass through at full speed. The Wild Ox Gorge is only three kilometers long, and with our speed, we can pass through in just five minutes at most. There's no need to worry at all!" Gu Hongqiang said stubbornly. On the one hand, he was extremely confident in his own judgment, believing that the Western Sichuan Army could not defeat the Jade Tree garrison and set up an ambush in Wild Ox Gorge within such a short period of time. On the other hand, military affairs were urgent, and he needed to rush to Jade Tree as quickly as possible. If something happened to Gu Hongtao, he would be unable to explain it to Gu Hongyun! For these reasons, Gu Hongqiang led the six regiments of the Green Horse Army into the depths of death.

  Lü Yuanching saw Gu Hongqiang's persistence and had to stop advising him. However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss. "God bless! I hope there's no ambush! Otherwise, it'll be a complete disaster!" Lü Yuanching prayed silently.

  The cavalry of the Qinghai Army was very fast, and before 3 pm, they arrived at Niubao Gorge. Then, under the astonished eyes of the Sichuan Army, they directly entered Niubao Gorge.

  "What's going on here? Don't they fear that we are ambushing them here? Why didn't they send someone to scout ahead?" This question appeared in the minds of many soldiers from the Western Sichuan Army.

  However, they soon had no time to think about this issue. After the entire rear team of the Qing army entered the Niubigou, the front soldiers were about to rush out.

  A crisp gunshot rang out in the valley of Wild Bull Gorge, followed by a continuous barrage of gunfire and cannon fire. The Qing cavalry, who were about to charge out of Wild Bull Gorge, were instantly knocked to the ground by dense bullets. On both sides of the mountain forest at the exit of the gorge, four heavy machine guns spewed out long flames, forming a crossfire that completely sealed off the area. All the Qing soldiers attempting to break out of Wild Bull Gorge were shot into sieves.

  The artillery position on the half mountain waist also became busy, twenty-four 82-style infantry guns let out a shocking roar, and the scorching shells were smashed into the panicked Qing Ma army, shrapnel flew across, taking away life after life.

  "It's done! There really is an ambush!" At the moment when the gunshot sounded, Gu Hongqiang's face changed greatly. He didn't expect that the Western Sichuan Army had already arrived here and set up an ambush, waiting for him to drill in!

  "Old brother, stop hesitating! What are you going to do? The fire power of the Western Sichuan Army is too strong. If we delay any longer, all our brothers will be killed!" Lu Yuanqing urged.

  Six thousand Green Dragon Army, all were locked in the valley of Wild Bull Gorge. The startled war horses ran wildly in all directions, and the Green Dragon soldiers on horseback fell off and were trampled into minced meat, suffering heavy casualties. The remaining Green Dragon soldiers rushed to the ground or behind rocks, firing back at the forest on the mountain wall. However, they were so panicked that they didn't have any aim at all, and couldn't pose even a slight threat to the Sichuan Army.

  "Hurry up and retreat, withdraw from the Buffalo Gorge. If we stay here any longer, we'll be wiped out by the Sichuan Army!" Looking at the heavy casualties of the Qingma Army under the intense firepower of the Sichuan Army, Gu Hongtao's face was filled with anger. It was all his own stubbornness that led to this disaster. If he had listened to Lü Yuancheng's words and sent scouts first, they wouldn't be in this situation now.

  "We can't pull out! The Western Sichuan Army has deployed heavy troops and strong firepower behind us, the entire Niubao Valley is already blocked, we simply can't break through!" Lü Yuancheng observed the situation in the valley before saying.

  "What should we do now?" Gu Hongqiang shouted in despair.

  "For now, we must either rush forward with all our might and try to break through, or else surrender!" Lü Yuancheng said with a gloomy expression. Having fallen into the ambush of the Western Sichuan Army today, it was naturally a matter of life and death.

  "I'd rather die than surrender to these Sichuan troops like this!" Gu Hongqiang gritted his teeth and said. Since the Sichuan army was able to arrive at Ye Niugou to set up an ambush, it was clear that Yushu City had already fallen, and Gu Hongtao was probably in a precarious situation.

  "Organize the troops and prepare to charge out!" Gu Hongqiang ordered.

  Under his command, the remaining cavalrymen of the Green Horse Regiment remounted and launched a charge towards the Niubigou outside. Despite their low posture, they suffered heavy casualties under the dense firepower of the Sichuan Army. This was not even a battle at all, as the Qing army, lacking in heavy firepower, entered the encirclement of the Sichuan Army and was completely on the defensive. Perhaps this could no longer be described as a battle, but rather a one-sided massacre.

  "Brothers, we are surrounded! Staying here is a dead end. Let's charge out together! Charge!" Gu Hongqiang shouted loudly on horseback. However, he found that only a few hundred soldiers from the Qingma Army were willing to follow him in the charge, all of whom were from his 7th battalion. The rest of the Qingma Army, except for those who had died, were either crouching on the ground or hiding behind cover, and did not respond to his call, including his good friend Lü Yuqing. It was clear that in their view, charging out at this time was simply a death wish.

  Gu Hongqiang smiled wryly, this time he had entered the ambush circle of the Western Sichuan Army, it was entirely his responsibility. And now, those soldiers had abandoned him. Even his good friends were like that, which made Gu Hongqiang feel even more desperate and betrayed.

  Thus, Gu Hongqiang led those loyal confidants and launched a charge. At this time, they were less than one kilometer away from the exit of Wild Bull Gorge. However, for this stretch of road, they could never cross it.

  The firepower of the Kansai army was extremely fierce. After the Qingma army entered the ambush circle, all light and heavy weapons under the 10th Brigade opened fire, instantly making the entire valley like hell. Scorching bullets flew wildly, shrapnel shot out in all directions, and non-stop Qingma soldiers were hit and killed!

  Despair and panic spread in the valley, under the fierce firepower of the Chongqing army, the morale of the Qingma army plummeted rapidly, almost on the verge of collapse.

  "Rat-a-tat-tat!" The low hum of the heavy machine gun echoed through the valley. Gu Hongqiang led his confidants, crouching on horseback, rapidly charging towards the mouth of the valley. However, their actions were also detected by the Sichuan Army. Thus, their prospects became even more uncertain.

  "Adjust firing data, left 30 degrees, down 10 degrees!"

  The artillery position on the half mountain waist, a battalion of 12 82-style infantry guns immediately challenged the shooting direction, aiming at Gu Hongqiang and others who were charging out of the valley.

  PS: The first update is here! The new book period is about to pass, seeking collection and recommendation votes!