Chapter 265 The Battle of Chengdu (Part 2)

The Cavalry on both flanks suffered a setback, and Li Yuanlang immediately realized something was wrong; this was no longer a situation where they could gain an advantage through mounted archery, as the opponent consisted of heavy infantry.

Looking at his center army, he saw that facing the Baier Soldiers led by Chen Dao and Xia Luqi, the Xikang Army's defensive line was already crumbling; if the battle continued like this, collapse was only a matter of time.

Li Yuanlang's eyes hardened, and he made a bold decision.

"Order the Cavalry on both flanks to abandon mounted archery and charge the formation for me!"

Tuoba Tao immediately realized something was amiss and grabbed Li Yuanlang's arm.

"Your Highness, please think twice. If a direct charge fails to break through, there is a risk of total annihilation!"

Li Yuanlang pointed toward the distant center army.

"Open your eyes and look! How much longer can the center army hold? If we cannot break up the enemy's formation, we will be routed!"

Casting his gaze toward the center army, Tuoba Tao realized that Li Yuanlang's choice was correct and said nothing more.

Once the military order was issued, even though they feared that hedgehog-like formation, the Western Kang Cavalry had no choice but to grit their teeth and charge.

"Puchi..."

The long spears slanted into the ground required no effort; the Western Kang Cavalry simply collided with the spear tips, carrying their own immense momentum. The sound of metal piercing flesh echoed across the entire battlefield.

Some long spears, unable to withstand the tremendous impact, had their shafts snap instantly. The spearmen discarded the broken shafts, drew the broadswords at their waists, and hacked at the Western Kang cavalrymen who had fallen to the ground.

The first row of Cavalry became human shields, opening a bloody path for the second row. The Western Kang Cavalry charged into the Nanyue Army formation with unstoppable momentum.

However, Tuoba Rui was surprised to find that the Nanyue Army soldiers did not fall into chaos like their previous opponents; instead, they quickly established a second line of defense.

It was still the Sword and Shield Soldiers in the front, while the crossbowmen behind them began shooting the Western Kang soldiers on horseback at close range. The Sword and Shield Soldiers behind them, having caught their breath, began attacking the horses' legs from the flanks.

Although the losses were not small, the Western Kang Cavalry and Nanyue infantry were already locked in melee combat on both flanks. The momentum of the Cavalry charge was broken, and that was fatal.

Being able to block the Western Kang Cavalry relied on excellent equipment and a sufficiently thick formation—to put it bluntly, it was built upon a pile of human lives.

However, the infantry on the Western Kang right flank did not have such luck. Not only did they lack excellent equipment, wearing only leather coats, but they also could not withstand the charge of the two thousand Xiaoguo Army soldiers.

Meng Zhenshan had made up his mind today to wash away his past shame. Taking advantage of his fast horse, he charged to the very front of the formation. His great blade swept across the enemy's bodies like a scythe, taking over a dozen lives in a single charge.

After just one impact, the Xikang Army's right flank was on the verge of collapse. Li Yuanlang was greatly alarmed and hurriedly ordered Tuoba Tao to lead men up to support it.

On the other side, Gao Yuan led over five thousand infantry to meet the Western Kang left flank infantry. This temporarily assembled army had no advantages in either equipment or training, but they had a cheater.

As Gao Yuan activated the Leaders Aura, the soldiers' morale soared, and they followed Gao Yuan, pushing these three thousand enemy troops back repeatedly.

The silver spear danced in Gao Yuan's hands like a swimming dragon; every strike took a life. Two of the Western Kang's chiliarchs died under Gao Yuan's spear.

Li Yuanlang had no choice but to pull two thousand troops from the center army, attempting to block Gao Yuan's offensive; otherwise, if both flanks were broken, it would all be over.

In the center, Xia Luqi had abandoned his long spear and switched to the four-edged gold maces at his waist, swinging them left and right. He smashed the Western Kang soldiers until they howled in terror; not a single one of the Western Kang generals could withstand three moves from him.

Seeing that both flanks were suppressed and the gap in the center army was growing larger, Li Yuanlang knew that victory was impossible today. He immediately ordered the reserves to advance to cover the retreat of the forward army.

He knew he had lost today's great battle; continuing to fight would lead to a total collapse.

The greatest weakness of heavy infantry is their slow movement and high stamina consumption. Therefore, facing the Western Kang troops retreating desperately, Liu Rengui did not choose to pursue but instead ordered the forward army to turn and prepare to wipe out both Cavalry forces.

Seeing the center army retreating, Tuoba Rui immediately realized something was wrong—he might become an abandoned pawn. Anxious, he immediately shouted:

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! Follow me and fight our way out to retreat back to the main camp!"

However, at this moment, they discovered that they were already surrounded, with dense crowds of Great Qian soldiers all around them.

Tuoba Rui wiped the blood from his face and led his men, charging left and right. In the end, he actually managed to fight his way out, but only a few remained.

Of the eight thousand Cavalry, fewer than one thousand eventually escaped back to the main camp. Over seven thousand men were lost in this bloody battle, though the Nanyue Army also paid an extremely heavy price for it.

Not counting the casualties in the direct confrontation, the casualties on the two flanks alone exceeded eight thousand men. These were all elite troops that Gao Yuan had painstakingly cultivated.

Seeing over ten thousand casualties in a single day, Gao Yuan felt a pain so intense he could barely breathe—a pain that even the very rich spoils of war could not compensate for.

On the Western Kang side, the atmosphere in Li Yuanlang's commanders tent was extremely oppressive. In one day, just one day, the Cavalry was basically wiped out, infantry casualties exceeded fifteen thousand, and nearly half of their fifty-thousand-strong army was lost.

Li Yuanlang knew this was caused by his underestimation of the enemy, but it was already too late. The problem they faced now was whether they could continue fighting this war.

If they continued to fight, they risked total annihilation.

If they retreated, given Gao Yuan's past habits, he would certainly press forward with his main army, and it was highly likely that their previous gains would not be secured.

At this moment, Tuoba Tao stood up.

"Your Highness, This humble general believes it would be better to quit while we are ahead. We should take all the supplies that can be moved and all the population that can be relocated, and immediately retreat to Song Prefecture and Yaizhou to defend based on the strategic terrain."

Someone immediately stood up and echoed:

"That's right! As long as we have seized enough money, grain, and slaves, and can hold Song Prefecture, this battle will not have been fought in vain."

Li Yuanhao scanned the crowd and saw the same look in everyone's eyes; he could only nod helplessly.

"Since that is the case, General Tuoba Tao will remain to cover the rear, and I will lead the men back to Mianzhu immediately."

Tuoba Tao almost cursed out loud; he had given Li Yuanlang a way out, and instead, he was being left behind to die.

But he also understood that if no one was left to cover the rear, once Gao Yuan pressed forward with his main army, let alone taking away supplies and slaves, they probably wouldn't be able to take a single grain of food.

The final result was that Tuoba Tao led five thousand men to remain and guard the main camp, attracting the attention of the Nanyue Army.

The remaining ten thousand-plus troops and twenty thousand-plus laborers were led by Li Yuanlang to retreat toward Mianzhu.

However, both Li Yuanlang and Tuoba Tao overlooked one point: the purpose of Gao Yuan's trip.

If Gao Yuan had only come to help fight a battle and then leave, he would certainly have chosen to wipe out Tuoba Tao and quit while ahead.

However, Gao Yuan's goal from the very beginning was to take control of the Jiannan Circuit and expand his territory.

Then his choice was very obvious: pursue them to recover the lost territory and prevent the Western Kang people from taking away a single grain of food or a single copper coin.

"I will personally lead men to deal with Tuoba Tao. You lead the main force to immediately pursue Li Yuanlang, recover as much lost territory as possible, and rescue the common people."

Upon learning that the Western Kang Army was retreating, Gao Yuan finished the porridge in his bowl in one gulp and stood up to issue the order.

Everyone also finished their breakfast in a few bites, took the token, and set off.

Meng Zhenshan exchanged a glance with Gao Yuan, and after receiving an affirmative response, he also left with them.

Gao Yuan led eight thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers and over three thousand Jiannan Army soldiers to remain on the Chengdu Plain, surrounding Tuoba Tao.