Chapter 53: Total Annihilation of the Army

  What did he see?!

  He saw that there were about five hundred Han troops on the grassy hill, no different from his own army! Those helmets, those long spears, those long bows, those cavalry swords!

  The middle-aged Han man beside him also changed color and exclaimed in panic: "Your Highness, retreat quickly!"

  Two thousand five hundred elite cavalrymen have been unable to take down the mere five hundred people on the grassy hill, and it is only due to their numerical advantage that they have been able to hold out.

  But now there were suddenly five hundred Han troops again, and beside them only five hundred cavalry remained!

  That's totally unfair!

  "Shut up!"

  The young Xiongnu glared at the middle-aged Han man with a cold gaze and shouted: "Get out of here!"

  Chiji, the young Xiongnu suddenly calmed down, and while letting the 500 elite cavalrymen by his side turn their horses around and form a battle array, he also let someone blow the horn!

  Li Zhong was frenzied, his long spear in hand already dripping with fresh blood. One by one, the robust Xiongnu warriors fell under his spear, splashing him with their blood, making him look like a malevolent demon.

  The green-armored war riders following closely behind him were all like him, as if they had emerged from a sea of blood.

  Suddenly, the melodious sound of bugles came, and the remaining Xiongnu elite cavalry let out a collective sigh, then turned their horses' heads and quickly retreated like the ebbing tide. Li Zhong was slightly stunned, and involuntarily raised his head!

  "Soldiers, reinforcements have arrived!"

  Joy on his face, bursting forth suddenly!

  Hoo-hoo...

  All the warriors let out a collective sigh of relief. Many of the wounded, who had been struggling to hold on due to exhaustion, were now unable to stand and fell down in large numbers!

  Li Zheng saw the situation, and hastily let the wounded bandage their wounds on the grass mound to rest. He himself made a prompt decision, immediately leading the Qingjia war cavalry and still having combat-effective infantrymen, charging down the grass mound!

  So-called one drum makes energy, twice and decline, three times exhausted.

  The Huns, since the retreat horn was blown, their morale immediately dropped by more than one level! Seeing Li Zhong still leading a group of blood-soaked warriors to pursue and kill them, they were all shocked. And when they saw the 500 elite Han soldiers rushing over from afar, they immediately panicked.

  "Assemble, assemble, retreat northward!"

  The young Xiongnu warrior was also startled, but he remained calm and directed his cavalry to head north.

  At this time, the 500 strong army returned from the hills to Da Ying, facing the same 500 Xiongnu elite cavalry who had not joined the battle, and charged forward under a hail of arrows!

  At this time, the remaining Xiongnu soldiers who retreated from the grassy hill had just gathered beside the young Xiongnu!

  "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

  A loud cry of "Kill!" suddenly rang out!

  The 500-strong Shengli Army and Li Zhuang's over 100-strong warriors formed a pincer movement at this time.

  In an instant, the Huns who had just gathered were forced into a state of combat by the frenzied and proactive attack of Li Jing's infantry.

  Without cavalry charging forward, facing Li Jing's well-equipped infantry attacking fiercely, they immediately fell into a bitter battle.

  After a melee, the Huns youth had no choice but to accept the fact that he was completely at a disadvantage! Therefore, the horn for fleeing was blown again.

  The defeat is like a mountain collapse, what's in front of us is nothing but this!

  The elite Xiongnu troops were powerful and could engage in a fierce battle with Li Jing for an hour without falling behind, but after the commander's mistake and the collapse of morale, they also fell into a desperate retreat!

  At this time, Li Zhong and more than 100 soldiers who had been fighting for an hour were all exhausted, panting, and could no longer lift their feet.

  The task of pursuing the remaining Xiongnu soldiers fell on the newly arrived 500-strong army.

  It was extremely foolish to chase cavalry with infantry, but Li Jing did just that.

  Watching the retreating remnants of the Xiongnu and the five hundred infantrymen pursuing them, Li Jing led his equally disheveled but spirited soldiers to start clearing the battlefield.

  Finishing blows are necessary.

  Then gather the horses.

  A Xiongnu warrior had three horses, so 3,000 men would have brought 9,000 warhorses. Most of these warhorses were lost on the battlefield. When they were rounded up and counted carefully, there were more than 4,000!

  This is a windfall of no small amount.

  Next were the weapons and armor on the bodies of the Xiongnu people. Although Li Zhong looked down on them, they could be collected as raw materials for the forging center.

  Two hours later, almost in the afternoon, the battlefield was finally cleared.

  Over a thousand Xiongnu corpses had their heads cut off and were made into a spectacle. The headless bodies were all piled up, ready to be burned with fire.

  At the same time, Li Zhong also counted the damage degree of his own army.

  Of the 500 elite infantrymen, fewer than 150 are still able to stand now. Over 200 have been confirmed dead. The rest all have injuries of varying severity. Those with light wounds will be fine after some rest and can return to battle, but those severely injured who lost limbs or suffered internal damage will either cling to life for a while before succumbing to a painful death or become disabled.

  This one battle almost completely crippled Li Zhong's army, and the ferocity of it can be imagined. If not for the timely arrival of 500 more soldiers later on, Li Zhong wouldn't have known how much longer he could hold out.

  Heavily sat on a heap of weeds, Li Zhong's face was somewhat pale.

  The low morale is due to the loss of warriors. Among his men, who can be considered elite, there were only over a thousand people, and now nearly three hundred people have been lost in one battle, which immediately accounted for five or six tenths!

  His face was pale because he himself was also injured.

  Li Zhong is strong, but not to the point of being unreasonable. He's still a mortal with a physical body and can get injured. In this battle, he had at least five wounds on his body. Fortunately, they were all on his limbs, and as he was skilled in martial arts, he could adjust his muscles to lock down the wounds, otherwise he would have lost too much blood and fainted.

  The battle has just ended, and suddenly eight or nine out of ten of his strength is gone.

  After bandaging himself all over, he lay down on a heap of grass and fell asleep in a daze.

  A few unhurt green armored warriors gathered their spirits and silently guarded Li Zhong's side, protecting his safety.

  A burst of hoofbeats awakened Li Zhēng.

  He sprang up with a start and found it was already dark.

  Looking at the few green armored war horses that were already shaking beside him, Li Zhēn couldn't help but feel moved. He raised his head and looked around in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing.

  The grassland at night is really too dark.

  The warriors on the grassy hill, whether intact or wounded, as long as they could move, silently raised their weapons and gathered together after hearing the sound of horseshoes.

  "Master! Are you here?! Master, are you safe?!"

  Zhang Shan's rough and familiar voice came from the darkness, Li Zheng's tense muscles relaxed involuntarily, he smiled and shouted: "The school lieutenant is here!"

  "Excellent, milord!"

  "As long as His Majesty is safe!"

  As the sound of horseshoes approached, the first thing that caught sight was Bai Lang and Zhang Shan.

  Behind them were rows of neat and tidy war wolves and light cavalry.

  The two followed the sound and climbed up the grassy hill, looked up to see Li Zheng covered in dry blood all over his body, immediately knelt down on the ground: "Your Excellency!"

  "Hurry up and get up!"

  Li Ding helped them up and laughed: "How was that? Did we intercept this remnant of the Xiongnu army?"

  "Fortune does not betray one's will!"

  "Good!"

  Li Zhuang smiled.

  Before the battle, Li Zhong sent a message to Zhao Wu through Lanyan Bird at the same time, and also sent messages to Bai Lang and Zhang Shan. Let them immediately get rid of the Jie people's army and move towards Li Zhong's side.

  It means both rescue and interception.

  If Li Zhong loses the battle, they will be another rescue team. If Li Zhong wins, their mission is to pursue and annihilate the remaining enemy soldiers.

  And when the war reached its final juncture, Li Zhong discovered that the direction of the Huns' escape was actually northward, and he immediately felt overjoyed.

  North, where Bai Lang and Zhang Shan are located.

  So Li Jing sent 500 infantrymen to pursue them relentlessly, on the one hand not wanting to give the Xiongnu people time to rest, and on the other hand also planning to join forces with Zhang Shan to attack the remaining Xiongnu troops.

  As soon as he heard two people say "lucky to have escaped with their lives", Li Zhong immediately burst out laughing.

  "Speak."

  "Ah!"

  Zhang Shan and Bai Lang looked at each other, then Zhang Shan spoke up: "Your Excellency, we received your message and didn't dare to delay. We took advantage of our speed and immediately shook off the Xiongnu army's pursuit. After circling around a small area, we headed south. Halfway there, we happened to run into them head-on. After a fierce battle, we defeated the remaining Xiongnu soldiers, and the infantry brothers also arrived. Through encirclement and pursuit, we captured all of the Xiongnu people, not letting a single one escape!"

  "Good! Are there any prisoners?!"

  "There are more than ten!"

  "Bring the leader forward!"

  At the sound of Bai Lang's voice, two soldiers immediately dragged the captive up.

  Li Jing took a closer look and indeed it was the young Xiongnu man who had been at the forefront.

  "Hmmph!"

  The young Xiongnu snorted and struggled to his feet, facing Li Jing without bowing his head.

  Although he is shabbily dressed, he still has an air about him.

  "The Han general, I admit defeat at your hands today." The Xiongnu youth was not an unreasonable person. Despite being defeated by Li Jing with a superior force, he had no complaints: "Dare you tell me your name?!"

  Li Zhong stood up and smiled slightly, saying: "I am Li Zhong, the Protector of the Qiang in Liangzhou!"

  "Hu Qiang Colonel..." The young Xiongnu's brow furrowed: "If you're the Hu Qiang Colonel, why have you come to the grasslands?!"

  "This has nothing to do with you." Li Zhēng collected his smile and said, "I see that you are not an ordinary person either. I hope that from now on, you will answer my questions truthfully. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

  "Hmph!" The young Xiongnu snorted: "My great Xiongnu has never had a coward, and my great Xiongnu people only acknowledge the strong. You are stronger than me, ask away, I won't hide anything!"