Chapter 69: The Great Destruction of the Green Horse Army

  "They've charged forward, breaking through the Western Sichuan Army's defenses! It's really too great!" Ma Haiyan's gloomy face was swept away, his wrinkles smiling like a chrysanthemum. He looked just like a happy child.

  "Our cavalry soldiers are the bravest, the strongest. The Sichuan army that only relies on firepower, how can they compare to us?" Gu Hongyun said immediately. His face was also smiling like a flower, completely forgetting that he had just advised Ma Haiyan to retreat quickly.

  Only Zhou He's face didn't change much. Although the Qingma Army broke through the Chuanxi Army's defense line, the troops that participated in the attack were almost at their last gasp. In the face of heavy casualties, these soldiers were all relying on a sense of conviction to barely hold on. Looking at the Chuanxi Army again, although they retreated, the entire process was orderly and did not show any signs of panic, it didn't look like a defeat at all. On the contrary, during the retreat, they continued to cause significant damage to the Qingma Army. Therefore, Zhou He had a very bad premonition in his heart.

  Behind the defensive line of the Western Sichuan Army, a large number of cavalrymen had mounted their war horses. These were soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Brigade. On the front line, only one battalion was deployed by the Western Sichuan Army. However, this battalion still inflicted heavy casualties on the Qing army under the cover of strong firepower. Although the defensive line has been breached, this is also because the Western Sichuan Army did not want to sacrifice their soldiers and engage in a fierce battle with the Qing army.

  "Prepare to charge!" As soon as the Qing Ma Army broke through the Sichuan Western Army's defense line, Zhao Bowei, the commander of the 10th Brigade, immediately gave the order. The two battalions on both wings and the cavalry of the second battalion, which was used as a reserve team, immediately launched a counter-charge.

  The sound of horseshoes was like thunder, the horse knives were like snow, and under the sunlight, they reflected a large area of white light. The three battalions of the Sichuan Army quickly launched a charge against the Qing Ma Army.

  Those Qing soldiers who had just broken through the Sichuan Army's defense line were still excited and hadn't calmed down yet when they saw a large number of Sichuan cavalry charging towards them. On one side were the low-spirited, battle-weary Qing troops, while on the other were the well-rested, high-morale Sichuan troops, and it was immediately clear who would emerge victorious.

  "Kill!" The cavalry of the Western Sichuan Army let out a thunderous roar, their sabers slashing down at the enemy's heads with all their might. With the help of their warhorses' speed, beheading the enemy was not much effort at all. As the gleaming saber sliced through, a perfectly good head had already shot up into the air. Quick to pierce, split, surround and annihilate. In a short time, the two or three thousand Qing cavalry who had charged into the Western Sichuan Army's formation were in a predicament. During the melee, the Western Sichuan Army's cavalry would occasionally throw hand grenades into the Qing cavalry's gathered forces, further accelerating their defeat.

  Gradually, the soldiers of the Qing Ma Army could no longer withstand the heavy pressure and suddenly fled on horseback. The role model effect is infinite, and the soldiers of the Qing Ma Army, who were already on the verge of collapse, collapsed instantly. As the saying goes, "The defeat of the army is like a mountain collapse", the scene of the Qing Ma Army's defeat was undoubtedly like this.

  "General, the brothers ahead have been defeated by the Sichuan army, hurry up and send troops to rescue them!" Zhou He said in a hurry. Now they still had two battalions of elite troops in their hands, plus another thousand defeated soldiers.

  "It won't work, those defeated soldiers have already been frightened out of their wits and are temporarily unable to fight. The terrain here is too narrow, if reinforcements are sent, they will be scattered by the fleeing troops, giving the Western Sichuan Army an opportunity to take advantage of it!" Gu Hongyun shook his head. As a long-time commander, he was far superior to Zhou He in terms of command skills.

  "Alas! The momentum has gone, and the sharp edge is lost! Order the troops to retreat!" Ma Haiyan said bitterly. His appearance seemed even more aged at this moment. With an army of over 16,000 men fighting against more than 4,000 Sichuan troops, they still ended up in this state, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

  "Wooh!" The mournful sound of the horn blew again, echoing in the sky above the grassland, sounding extremely sorrowful. After hearing the order to retreat, those defeated Qinghai soldiers beat their war horses even harder and fled desperately. Behind them, Zhasi Duoji, deputy commander of the 10th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, led three regiments of the Sichuan Army in pursuit of the defeated Qinghai troops.

  The war horses of the Western Expeditionary Army, whether in terms of explosive power or endurance, were slightly stronger than those of the Qingyu Army. This resulted in soldiers from the Qingyu Army being constantly overtaken during the entire pursuit process. These soldiers either surrendered or were directly killed, with no third option available to them.

  The Qinghai Army fled northward, and troops were constantly caught up by the Sichuan Army and annihilated. When the Sichuan Army stopped pursuing, they had already chased them out for over 200 miles. During this period, at least thousands of Qinghai soldiers were killed or captured. Ma Haiyan arrived with 16 battalions, and the Qinghai Army was almost completely defeated, but after this battle, only less than 4,000 troops were gathered. Apart from most being killed in action, some people took advantage of the chaos to escape. It is clear that they were all intimidated by the Sichuan Army and had completely lost hope in the Qinghai Army. Rather than staying behind to die, it was better to leave early.

  "Where are we going next, Admiral?" Zhou He asked. Due to the defeat, the morale of the troops had dropped to an all-time low, and many people were hanging their heads in shame, unable to muster up any enthusiasm.

  "Hum! Why does everyone look like they've lost their mother? I'm not dead yet! Victory and defeat are common in the military. We still have a chance. The horses of Hezhou, Ma Jiajun, and Ning Ma Jun will arrive soon, and we can still gather 40,000 troops. We still have the strength to fight against the Sichuan army. The final victory may not necessarily belong to them!" Ma Haiyan shouted with full energy. In fact, Ma Haiyan was also very disappointed in his heart about this defeat. But he knew that he couldn't fall down, nor could he show any despair, otherwise, the Qing Ma Jun would really be finished.

  "Yes, Admiral, you're right. We still have a chance. Although we were defeated, the Kansai army also suffered heavy losses. We still have the support of the Hezhou Ma family and the Ningma army, and the final victory will surely be ours!" Zhou He also said loudly.

  "God will protect his people!" Gu Hongyun also shouted loudly.

  At that moment, those originally dejected Blue Wolf Troops were once again inspired. They were the Blue Wolf Troops who had galloped across the grasslands for decades, they were invincible existences, and it was impossible for any external enemy to defeat them.

  Dongqiangou, the soldiers of the Chuanxi Army have already cleaned up the battlefield. This time, not many prisoners were captured, and with those seriously injured, there were only about 3,000 to 4,000 people. Most of the Qingma Army soldiers returned to the embrace of their true master under the intense firepower of the Chuanxi Army.

  "General Xiao, Chief of Staff, a great victory! This time we have four thousand against sixteen thousand, and at least ten thousand enemies were annihilated!" The commander of the 10th Brigade, Zhao Bowei, was overjoyed.

  "How are our casualties?" Wang Yuez asked first. The number of enemy planes shot down was important, but not the most important thing.

  "General, our casualties are not heavy. The first battalion that fought head-on has less than a hundred casualties. I don't know how many casualties the deputy commander's pursuit will have," Zhao Bowei said.

  "This casualty is still within the acceptable range. However, the consumption of ammunition has increased after all. This battle alone consumed at least one-third of our ammunition. Adding to the previous battles, we have already consumed half of our ammunition. Next, we still need to deal with tens of thousands of Ma's army, so we must use it sparingly!" Cai Yun said with a smile. Although they had defeated the Qing Ma Army, the war was not over yet. The He Zhou Ma Army and Ning Ma Army were also not easy to deal with.

  "The ammunition will be delivered by the logistics unit behind. It should alleviate the shortage of ammunition!" Zhao Bowei said. The 10th Brigade's strong combat effectiveness is ultimately due to its strong firepower. Otherwise, how can we achieve a small victory over a large one?

  "Ma Qiang is no longer useful, order the 11th Brigade to take down Ma Qiang! Next, it will be our final battle with the Ma family army!" Wang Yuzhang said. Leaving Ma Qiang was just to lure Ma Haiyan into a trap. Now that the Qingma Army has been defeated, there's no need to keep him anymore.

  PS: The first update is here! Please keep it for now, friends, and I'll fatten it up before killing it off!