The Loulan Army finally sounded the clarion call for a full retreat.
Alike Jiangkong had several times the strength of his opponent, but because of the unexpectedly clever tactics of the Metasequoia garrison, the Loulan army was surrounded by a pincer attack from both front and rear, and was completely trapped in a passive position.
The brave and tough ghost-faced white-robed army was still attacking back and forth, messing up Loulan's entire rear camp; and the metasequoia infantry formation attacking from the front was equally brave and unusual. The Loulan front that was responsible for resisting them was At a speed visible to the naked eye, they were forced to retreat steadily; what was even more terrifying were the five thousand black armored cavalry who suddenly came out from the Metasequoia City. At this moment, they had successfully broken into the flank of the Loulan camp, and they were about to To join up with the white robe army in the rear.
If we really have to wait until the two cavalry groups of the opponent successfully join forces, I am afraid that it will be difficult for him, Alik Jiang, to escape unscathed.
Therefore, the proud King Loulan had to order the withdrawal of troops across the board.
When the order was issued, the entire Loulan army changed formations one after another. Some camps with relatively complete combat strength quickly moved closer to the Alik River, and then formed a relatively stable formation and retreated backwards. Those soldiers and horses who had been scattered were scattered. , followed the instructions of flags and trumpets, and left the battlefield, running like wolves and mice towards the camps in the rear.
Xu Youchang saw that the other party had made up his mind to retreat and that the entire command system had not completely collapsed, so he stopped fighting. He also issued instructions and led the cavalry troops to drive the Loulan people only symbolically for three or four miles, and then turned around. Rushing back, together with the infantry phalanx that stayed in place, they surrounded the Chechi regiment that had not yet left in two directions.
At this time, King Geerhan of Chechi couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed.
let's hit? He really has no courage, and certainly no strength. Withdraw? He was also worried that his slightest move would cause misunderstanding on the part of the other party, which would lead to a violent attack. In desperation, with less than 30,000 chariots and troops, they had no choice but to follow the king and stay in place silently, facing the Metasequoia Army.
Geerhan sat on the saddle and looked at the majestic black-armored general opposite who was holding a spear. He seemed to be the top commander of Metasequoia. He didn't know if he could be the legendary Lieutenant Li Jiangyao.
He was thinking secretly when he suddenly saw the black-armored general conferring with the two officers next to him for a few words, and then waved his hand in his direction.
Um? What does it mean? Call me over?
Geerhan and his subordinates were hesitant, not knowing whether they should go over or who should be allowed to go over. At this time, they heard the black-armored general shout loudly: "It's been a noisy day, let's break up! It's time to go home for dinner. La!"
-
In the open space between the Loulan army camp and the Chechi army camp, a bonfire was burning. The Turkic Marquis of Durham, Iron Pigeon General Duolun, Loulan King Alekjan and Chechi King Geerhan were sitting around the bonfire, arguing fiercely.
Behind them stood a circle of Turkic golden-armored guards, and not far outside the circle were hundreds of Loulan soldiers and Chechi soldiers. The two sides were clearly separated and lined up on both sides.
I only heard Duolun complaining about Geerhan: "My lord, what the hell are you doing? I asked you to go to the alliance leader's tent for a meeting to discuss. If you don't come, you can't come. In the end, you have to choose this place." It’s a hell of a place to drink the wind. Isn’t it cold?”
Alek Jiang sneered and said sarcastically from the side: "General Duolun, he has a guilty conscience and is afraid that I will kill him!"
"Fart! Why am I guilty?" Geerhan couldn't help but angrily said: "To be honest, I'm really afraid that you will do something dirty, so that you can blame me for the defeat!"
Alek Jiang thrust the Nine Star Blade into the ground and yelled at the same time: "You bastard! This alliance leader wants to convict you of colluding with the enemy. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of my brothers who died?! "
Geerhan glared at the other party fiercely, and then quickly defended Durham and Duolun: "Master Marquis, General, this bastard Alek Jiang is definitely the first to complain. His subordinates have no military discipline. During the rotation battle, he was afraid of death and ignored friendly forces, directly exposing the flanks of our four square formations to the Metasequoia Army, creating an opportunity for the white-robed cavalry to raid our army; after that, Alekjiang became frantic again and ordered his subordinates to The two of you must have witnessed the shooting of the retreating Che Chi soldiers. For today's blood debt, please ask the Marquis and the General to uphold justice for us!"
"Oh my God, do you still have the nerve to demand justice from the Duke?" Alek Jiang shouted emotionally: "Gerhan, tell me, in today's battle, your Che Chi army was not only being chased like sheep, but It’s the same, running around for your life, but have you ever actually fought against the other party?”
Geerhan couldn't help being slightly startled when he heard this.
Now that I think about it carefully, during the entire day's battle, Chechi's army did not engage in a real battle. They first watched the commotion all morning, and finally received the order and sent out four phalanxes. However, before they reached the front line, the ghost-faced white-robed army suddenly came out and inexplicably killed more than 2,000 people. Then on the way back, the Loulan army shot down a thousand people.
Then, they became spectators again, watching helplessly as the Loulan people were beaten by the Metasequoia garrison. They did not fight once until they finally withdrew from the battlefield.
Seeing that Geerhan was at a loss for words, Alekjiang immediately became energetic and continued to press hard: "Gelhan, please explain it to me in front of the Marquis and the general. Today, when our army encountered an enemy attack from both front and rear, , why are you driving so late and have nothing to do? There are more than 30,000 people, and you feel relaxed as if you are on an outing. Moreover, the metasequoia infantry phalanx is very close to you. It does not attack or make a surprise attack, but just flirts there. You say, Why didn't they attack you? And why did they let you retreat to the camp safely in the end? What collusion did you have secretly? Tell me!"
When Geerhan was questioned by Alek Jiang, he couldn't help but become anxious. He suddenly stood up, pointed at the other party and cursed: "Alek Jiang, don't you fucking think of losing the battle, just put all the blame on me! I, I, I...how do I know so many reasons? ? Aren’t you the commander-in-chief of the coalition? With your 80,000-strong army, you were beaten into such a bear shape by 20,000 soldiers and horses, and you still have the nerve to show off to me as the leader of the alliance? I - bah!"
Alik Jiang raised his sword eyebrows, pulled out the nine-star blade from the ground, pointed at Geerhan's nose and shouted angrily: "Do you have the guts to tell me again?!"
"Just say it, are you afraid of it?" Geerhan pulled out the scimitar from his waist: "If you have the guts, come with it! If you have the guts, come with it! You can't beat Metasequoia City, so you want to bully me?"
"Shut up!" The Marquis of Durham grew more and more angry as he listened. He roared to calm the two people who were at war with each other: "Aren't you embarrassed enough? Why didn't I see you two so brave during the day? ?”
Upon seeing this, Duolun was afraid that neither side would be able to stand down, which would eventually affect the Turkic Empire's overall strategy. He hurriedly mediated: "Okay, okay, your two highnesses should calm down first. After the defeat, everyone felt unhappy. This It’s really normal. Let’s not blame anyone anymore. Come on, sit down, sit down and talk slowly.”
Duolun persuaded Alekjiang to sit down and comforted him. Then he put away Geerhan's knife and kept trying to reconcile the two sides.
Durham stared at them, curled his lips, and snorted: "If you were so smart on the battlefield today, I wouldn't have to suffer this cowardice with you!"
"Okay, my good Lord, please stop talking." Duolun gave a helpless smile: "Before coming here, His Highness Geerhan and I reminded everyone that you must not underestimate Metasequoia City. This time you I think you and His Highness Alekjiang finally believe it. Let me tell you, Metasequoia is a really evil place!"
Durham glared at him angrily, but opened his mouth but said nothing.
Objectively speaking, the performance of the Metasequoia garrison today, especially the combat power of the ghost-faced white-robed army, is indeed amazing.
If it were the main Turkic force or the Shengtang Legion, this situation would be easy to understand, but the opponent is just a group of rabble trapped in an isolated city. They are not even a second-rate regular army. They can actually rank Western Xinjiang first with just one move. The Loulan soldiers and horses were fighting so hard that they couldn't find their way. It was simply unbelievable.
Seeing that they had stopped arguing for the time being, Duolun said in a deep voice, "I wonder if you guys have noticed, but there are a lot of strange things about the White Robe Army's fighting style today."
The other three people were not in a high mood, so no one answered. Duolun continued: "The white-robed army held back all morning and then suddenly moved out, just when Loulan, Chechi, and the two armies were rotating. Moreover, They chose to launch the attack on the side of the Loulan Army. When they saw the Loulan Army retreating at an accelerated pace, they did not pursue it. Instead, they attacked the advancing Chechi Army. Isn't it strange?"
After he said this, Durham and others began to think about it, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.
Duolun continued: "When the four square formations of Che Chi were broken up, the other side did not start fighting on the spot, but just like herding sheep... I'm sorry, Your Highness Geerhan, I was just making an analogy... White Robe The army was like herding sheep, forcing the troops and horses to run toward the main formation."
"Well, that's true," Alek Jiang said, "It's also because of this that I had to order the archers to shoot. Once the Che Chi army disrupts the defense line, the entire army will be in danger."
Duolun nodded: "However, none of us expected that the real target of the White Robe Army was actually the joint between your two armies. Although the Marquis and I happened to have left beforehand at that time, we later heard the descriptions of the Loulan generals. , and also roughly knew the situation of the White Robes. From the beginning to the end, they were avoiding the interception of the Loulan cavalry and specifically selected the infantry to attack, which disrupted the entire formation."
Geerhan thought for a moment and was puzzled: "The two armies faced each other and repeatedly charged and killed. The scene was often very chaotic. How could they be able to select and devour the fat with such precision?"
"Yes, this is too strange." Geerhan was also puzzled: "Thousands of troops and horses are fighting together, and it is not easy to figure out the direction."
"The key issue is at the top of the city," Duolun said mysteriously: "Didn't you notice? Before the White Robes went to battle, a red flag suddenly erected on the Metasequoia City. Every time it wavered a few times, the white flag The army will have a new target to attack."
Alek Jiang was extremely shocked when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask: "General, you are in the rear formation, further away from Metasequoia City than I am, and you can even see this clearly? Are you lying?"
Durham waved his hand aside: "Doron is not lying. He is the leader of our Turkic Iron Pigeon Army and has excellent eyesight. It is said that even a few legs of a bee can be seen clearly from a hundred steps away."
"What the Marquis said is an exaggeration," Duolun said with a smile: "However, my eyesight is indeed better than ordinary people. I vaguely saw today that the person waving the red flag was a young man. If I expected it to be true, The one who has such superb tactical skills in Metasequoia City should be Li Jiangyao, the captain of the Pegasus Scout Battalion of Zhenjiang Protectorate!"
