The Battle of the Bison was not only a matter of life and death for the Sui Kingdom, but also a life-and-death battle for the Qiang people in Haizhou.
As long as this battle can be won, the Qiang people can regain their country and become the masters of Haizhou again. This is also the main reason why the Qiang army fights so hard.
In order for the Qiang people to regain their country, Yelu Deguang did not hesitate to bow to the enemy who killed his father, so as to unify the three conflicting Qiang factions. After squeezing out the last drop of money from the Qiang people, he shamelessly begged his grandfather to sue his grandmother. Only then could a Qiang army of 100,000 be formed.
To put it bluntly, these 100,000 Qiang troops are the last resistance of the Qiang people to restore their country. If they are all defeated in this battle, the Qiang people may not dare to resist again for a long time in the future. coming.
Long before the war started, Shulu Ping told Yelu Deguang that the risks of this battle were very high, and asked him to be mentally prepared. If he lost the battle, he would have to abandon Haizhou and retreat to the plateau to attach himself to Tibet. Therefore, he needed to do his best. Preserve strength as much as possible so that there is a possibility of a comeback in the future.
Although Yelu Deguang listened to Shu Luping's words, he was unwilling to face it because he could not afford to lose this battle, and he did not want to give up Haizhou and flee to the more barren plateau area in embarrassment.
Yelu Deguang still had some luck in his heart. What if he won the decisive battle at Bison Mountain? Therefore, he did not do anything that Shuluping asked him to make friends with or win over the Tibetan generals.
But now that the defeat of the coalition forces was a foregone conclusion, Yelu Deguang realized his mother's foresight, so he decisively ordered the front army to cut off the rear and the rear army to retreat, retaining as much vitality as possible.
Yelu Deguang looked at Yelvsu, who was also seriously injured, and asked, "Fifth Uncle, how many of our Qiang tribe's 100,000 troops can be saved after this battle?"
After Yelusu was silent for a while, he smiled bitterly and said: "Now that the coalition forces have been defeated across the board, the Qin army's pursuit has just begun. After hundreds of miles of escape, it is very rare to escape even a quarter of it alive."
"A quarter?"
Yelu Deguang also smiled bitterly, because he knew that in the face of the Qin army's pursuit, not a quarter of the people would survive.
The 100,000-strong army that the Qiang people formed by selling iron was completely destroyed by him in one battle. He was sorry for the two million Qiang elders.
"Report... to report to my lord, the front army in the rear was defeated, and thirteen generals including Yelv Xienechi, Yelv Renxian, and Yelu Wuzhi were killed in the battle."
"What? How is this possible?"
Yelv Deguang's expression suddenly changed. He had slashed Li Mu before he was seriously injured and left the field. Even if the injury was not serious, it would have affected Li Mu's condition. How could Li Mu still charge so fiercely? And kill so many generals in a row?
Generals such as Yelv Xienechi, Yelu Renxian, and Yelu Wuzhi were all the twenty-one heroes of Abaoji and the confidants that Yelu Deguang relied on. Unexpectedly, they were all lost under the Buffalo Mountain. .
As Li Mu was approaching, Yelv Deguang could not care about anything else. He would discuss the future in the future. The most urgent thing was to get rid of the Qin army's pursuit first.
"Give me the order to abandon all the baggage, throw away the weapons, and retreat at full speed."
Yelu Deguang shouted, after all, it is no longer a question of how many people can escape, but whether they can escape, and abandoning the baggage and weapons can make the Qiang soldiers run faster.
As long as the Qiang army can run faster than the Sui army and the Tubo army, the target of the Qin army will naturally change the Sui army and the Tubo army.
On the Qin army's side, first the right wing, then the front army, and then the left wing, all defeated the coalition forces. After completely defeating the Sui, Tuqiang and Qiang coalition forces, the next step was naturally to pursue them with all their strength.
The Sui, Tuqiang and Qiang coalition forces totaled 200,000 people. Even though many people died in the decisive battle at Bison Mountain, only a few people actually died in the battle.
Only the most powerful and capable group of people died. Most of the coalition soldiers fled with the defeated army. Naturally, the Qin army, which finally won the victory, could not let these people escape.
Whether it was Meng Tian, Li Jing, or Li Mu, they all defeated the remaining armies left behind by the coalition forces, and then joined together to pursue the coalition forces.
Whether it was the Sui army, the Tubo army, or the Qiang army, their backbones had been completely broken by the Qin army. Facing the surging Qin army, they could not raise any intention to resist.
Once the Qin army caught up, most of the coalition soldiers immediately threw away their weapons and knelt down to surrender, because if they dared to hold weapons, they would definitely end up being hacked to death with random knives.
"Enjoyed, Grand Governor, this battle was enjoyable." Hua Xiong shouted with a cheerful look on his face.
Although the Qin army had saved the day in the previous three battles of the Bison, many Qin soldiers still felt that the battle was aggrieved. Unlike this final decisive battle, the outcome was determined in one battle, and then all they had to do was pursue and capture prisoners of war. .
After the coalition forces were defeated, they were completely discouraged and did not dare to resist at all. Therefore, a hundred Qin troops often appeared, chasing thousands of coalition troops and killing them wildly. However, thousands of people not only did not dare to fight back, but surrendered voluntarily and were killed by a hundred , or the situation where dozens of Qin soldiers were escorted back to prisoner-of-war camps.
Seeing more and more prisoners of war being escorted back by the Qin army, Li Jing showed a serious and dignified expression.
The total number of the Qin army before the war was only 85,000, and the casualties in the decisive battle at Buffalo Mountain would not be less than 15,000. This means that the Qin army now has at most 70,000 troops left, but the number of fleeing coalition forces is less than 10,000. More than 20,000.
There are currently 30,000 to 40,000 prisoners of war captured, but their custody and capture will require a lot of Qin troops to be taken away, which will undoubtedly slow down the Qin army's pursuit speed.
"Hua Xiong, Li Jue." Li Jing shouted.
After hearing this, Hua Xiong and Li Jue quickly responded: "The general will be here at the end."
"Hua Xiong, you lead an army of 10,000 people and are responsible for capturing the prisoners of war of the coalition forces who fled along the way. Li Jue, you lead an army of 10,000 people and are responsible for guarding the prisoners of war in the prison camp."
"Ah? Grand Governor, this..."
Hua Xiong and Li Jue were stunned for a moment, and then they both showed signs of reluctance. After all, catching and guarding prisoners was not as satisfying as chasing the enemy.
Li Jing also saw the reluctance of Hua Xiong and Li Jue, but too many generals were injured in the battle at Buffalo Mountain. Yang Ren, Long Xuhu, Xin Wenli, Kang Anyu, etc. were all seriously injured and fell into coma.
If possible, Li Jing would naturally want to choose Yang Ren, or perhaps Xin Wenli, to scare these prisoners of war into being honest, but now that they are all injured, they can only choose the second best, Hua Xiong and Li Jue, who are famous and experienced.
"Go quickly."
Li Jing's eyes widened. Hua Xiong and Li Jue instantly withered and obeyed the order and left.
Li Jing asked Hua Xiong and Li Jue to command an army of 20,000, specifically responsible for capturing and guarding prisoners of war, as well as cleaning and clearing the battlefield, while he, Meng Tian, Li Mu and other generals led the remaining 40,000 to 50,000 troops in pursuit.
Just when 40,000 to 50,000 men were pursuing the overall situation, they were divided into two parts by Li Jing, and all the cavalry were concentrated in the front army.
Under the Qin Army's full-speed pursuit of the former army, the fleeing coalition forces could not run very far at all. They were soon overtaken by the Qin Army's cavalry. Those who dared to resist were shot to death with random arrows or hacked to death with knives. This will scare the rest of the defeated army.
The front army chasing the army just charged and then continued the pursuit. After the rear army caught up, only a few soldiers were left to guard it. After Hua Xiong led his troops in the rear to catch up, the prisoners of war were handed over to Hua Xiong's army, which specialized in capturing prisoners of war.
Under Li Jing's full-speed pursuit, the coalition forces suffered heavy casualties. A large number of defeated troops died in the pursuit, but more were captured.
The fastest runner among the coalition forces was naturally Yelu Deguang, who had given up his baggage and weapons. However, with Li Jing's reckless and frenzied pursuit, he was not very sure that he could escape the Qin army's pursuit.
"Lord, the Qin army has been chasing for nearly a hundred miles, but the soldiers are exhausted and have no strength to escape anymore." Kang Moji said with a tired look.
"If you continue to pass on the order and continue to march for five miles, as long as you cross the Xinglong Bridge, you will be able to escape the Qin army's pursuit." Yelu Deguang said solemnly.
"Xinglong Bridge? Even if we reach Xinglong Bridge, we are still two hundred miles away from Yushu. We can't run away..."
Suddenly, Kang Moji seemed to have thought of something, and said in shock: "My lord, do you want to destroy the Xinglong Bridge to temporarily get rid of the Qin army's pursuit? But once the Xinglong Bridge is broken, Yang Xingmi and Lun Qinling behind can I can’t even cross the river.”
When Yelu Deguang heard this, his face turned cold.
Yelu Deguang's move had two purposes. First, he asked Yang Xingmi and Lun Qinling to serve as his meat mats, in order to delay the Qin army's pursuit.
Simply demolishing the bridge would definitely not be able to hold back the Qin army for long. The Qin army could repair the Xinglong Bridge within a few hours.
However, when the Qin army catches up and encounters the defeated army blocked in front of the broken bridge, as well as Yang Xingmi and Lun Qinling, a war will inevitably break out between the two sides.
As for the second point, it is even more sinister.
The Qiang army suffered heavy losses after the Bison Mountain defeat, and was destined to be unable to defend Haizhou. Next, Yelu Deguang had only two options, one was to flee to the Western Regions, and the other was to flee to the plateau.
Shulu Ping had previously analyzed for Yelu Deguang that there were too many forces in the Western Regions and the situation was too complicated for Yelu Deguang to intervene, so he had no choice but to flee to the plateau and rely on King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet. .
In Yelu Deguang's view, the biggest reason why the Battle of Bison Mountain was so miserable was because of the Tibetan army.
The Tubo army not only defrauded the Sui Kingdom, but also defrauded the Qiang people. Therefore, Yelu Deguang naturally hated Tubo very much, so he had no psychological burden on the subsequent move to attach himself to Tubo and then annex Tubo.
But it is not easy to achieve this goal. The best way is to continuously weaken Tubo first.
The Tubo army only had 200,000 troops, and half of the army was sent to Haizhou. However, the Tubo army fought a lot of battles and lost miserably, but the casualties were not huge.
In the battle of Huangyuan Road, Lun Qinling was defeated three times in succession. The 30,000-strong army only suffered 10,000 casualties, and he took 20,000 people and fled back to Yushu.
As for the decisive battle at Bison Mountain, although the casualties of the Tubo army were not small, more of the Tubo army ran away when they saw that the situation was not good. Their escape speed was second only to the Qiang army who gave up their baggage and weapons, and was even worse than the Sui army.
If these Tubo troops were allowed to flee back to the plateau, it would undoubtedly become an obstacle for Yelu Deguang to annex Tubo and make a comeback, so he wanted to use the Qin army to get rid of these Tubo defeated troops.
After Yelu Deguang led his troops across the Xinglong Bridge, he sent people to set fire to the bridge.
Seeing the Tibetan troops on the other side of the river, some with despairing faces and some hysterical, Yelu Deguang felt much relieved, and then said to himself: "As for Qinling, both you and the Tubo deserve to die."
On the other side, before Qin Ling and Yang Xingmi could escape to Xinglong Bridge, they received the news that Yelu Deguang had set fire to the bridge and destroyed it. They were furious and cursed Yelu Deguang, but it had no effect.
The road ahead was cut off, the pursuers were approaching, and it was too late to take a detour. A feeling of despair spread among the defeated army.
Yang Xingmi and Lun Qinling were unwilling to surrender and decided to fight against Han Xin, so they organized the defeated army to form a formation at the back of the river, but the defeated army was in a mess and did not obey the command at all.
Yang Xingmi and Lun Qinling shouted desperately to restrain many people and asked them to follow the orders to form a formation. However, before the formation was formed, the Qin army's cavalry had already caught up.
The number of Qin army cavalry chasing them was not large, only more than 2,000, but the flag they raised was the Flying Bear Army, and the three generals Meng Tian, Jin Zha, and Muzha were among them.
Looking at the Qin army's lineup, Yang Xingmi couldn't help but smile miserably: "General, it seems that today is the day for both of you and me to die."
Lun Qinling didn't show any fear at all, and said: "Man, if you die, you will die. What's there to be afraid of? It's a pity that you died at the hands of a villain."
Seeing that Qin Ling was so concerned about death, Yang Xingmi felt a little relieved. The Tubo army was trapped in the trap, but Qin Ling really tried his best, and he should not blame him for the defeat.
"How magnificent. Today Yang will sacrifice his life to accompany the hero and go to this death together with General Lun."
"Then let's fight hard before we die."
Meng Tian saw that the opponent was fighting against the enemy and knew that the opponent would never surrender, so he did not send anyone to persuade them to surrender, but directly led his troops to charge.
