Chapter 236 Korla Victory

Chapter 236 Korla Victory

Chapter 236 Korla Victory

People are very different from each other. This Fat Tiger Mongolian warrior is gifted with the skill of "breaking the shout", just like Uncle Zhang San at the Dangyang Bridge back then.

Such a brave general who is full of classical grandeur and masculinity is rarely seen in modern times, even in the Qing Dynasty.

The last one can probably be traced back to the first Zasak of Naiman Banner, Duoluo Darhan Prince Gunchuk, who was also a rare Mongolian warrior. It is said that he could frighten thousands of troops with just a shout, and he had a human-shaped loudspeaker with a built-in megaphone.

In fact, the tactics used by the Torghut heavy cavalry just now were also originally trained by Gunchuk. The Mongolian musket heavy cavalry of our Qing Dynasty was the best in the world. Before charging with lances, they could fire two shots and shoot one arrow, which was far better than the Polish winged cavalry of the same kind in Europe.

The Winged Hussars did not have the Mongols' ability to control horses with their legs alone. Before charging into battle with their lances, they could only fire a shot with a flintlock pistol with one hand, which was enough to surpass their European heavy cavalry counterparts.

Unfortunately, times have changed, and horse riding and archery are no longer enough to intimidate the world.

If they had not rushed over just when the Kokand people were beaten to a pulp by the Huai Army's artillery brigade and were preparing to flee, it would not have been the Fat Tiger formation that killed Yakub Beg, but the Kokand barbarians who used breech-loading muskets to massacre the Mongolian cavalry.

This is the truth, but the fact is that Yakub Beg is dead.

The people of Kokand were united by the prestige of Yakub Beg. As soon as Yakub Beg died, the people of Kokand fell into chaos. Not only did the central army retreat and flee, but the entire army lost its backbone.

The 200 heavy cavalrymen behind Fat Tiger abandoned their lances and drew their scimitars. Behind them, the 5,000 light cavalrymen also fired twice with their matchlock muskets, and after firing one more arrow, they changed their job to hussars with scimitars and charged into the center of the Kokand army.

At long range, the Kokand quick-shooting troops could crush the Mongolian cavalry. Now that their leader had died in the retreat, the army was in chaos, and the cavalry rushed into the infantry camp, engaging in close combat and killing, like a tiger among a flock of sheep. The Kokand people's escape and retreat immediately turned into a rout.

The central army was defeated, and the front army that was attacking the city wall also became unstable. They stopped attacking and began to wait and see.

Dong Fuxiang was the best at observing the battle opportunities. He made a prompt decision and immediately raised his sword to command, "Cavalry Brigade, charge!"

The charge horn sounded, and the other ten cavalry battalions that were waiting for battle drew their swords, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves rose.

The might of tens of thousands of cavalry charging is enough to shock people even in modern times.

Hashim, commander of Yakub Beg's front army, shouted loudly to stabilize the morale of the army, ordered his men to form a battle line and shoot at the Gansu cavalry that was attacking in large numbers.

However, the morale of the Kokand people was shaken, and Hashim's orders were greatly reduced. Only one-third of the soldiers obeyed the order to shoot, and the rest looked around, observing the escape route.

After entering the range of the Kokand people's rapid-fire rifles, the Gansu cavalry encountered two volleys of enemy fire, losing more than a thousand men, but the charge had already sounded and all the soldiers charged on horseback.

As the cavalry torrent was getting closer, the north gate of Korla suddenly opened, and the defenders in the city rushed out holding a variety of weapons.

The rush of the defenders in the city became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The Kokand vanguard could no longer maintain their formation. Suddenly, they shouted and turned around to flee collectively.

Hashim was so angry that he drew his sword and killed the fleeing soldiers, but was caught by his subordinates and carried into the advancing flood.

The Kokand army collapsed across the board. Shao Quanzhong was also good at seizing opportunities in battle. He ordered the charge. The Guards Brigade left one battalion to guard Shao Quanzhong, and another battalion joined the ranks of chasing and killing the Kokand defeated soldiers.

There were still more than 14,000 Gansu troops left, plus 1,000 guards battalions, 5,000 Torghut cavalry, and 6,000 volunteers in the city, a total of 26,000 people participated in the hunt for the Kokand people, who numbered less than 15,000.

What about Bai Yanhu? He was the first to retreat westwards, using the Kokand people to block the pursuit of the three vanguard battalions of the Gansu cavalry. He did not stop at all and fled directly, outstripping the speed of the Mongolian charge. Now he has disappeared...

Bai Yanhu's ability in fighting is controversial, but his ability to observe the wind and escape is definitely one of the best in the world. His trusted subordinates have now become long-distance runners.

This is a real talent. Even Yakub Beg, who was much more powerful than him, died, but he is still alive and well...

The Huai Army and the Yi Army pursued them for sixty miles in one breath, all the way to Tiemen Pass. The cavalry was still okay, but the infantry all lay on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to run.

The reason why they were able to catch up to 70% of the distance of a marathon was definitely because of their hatred for the alien race. They just held on with one breath. This victory was a great victory. Only 4,000 of the 20,000 troops of Kokand escaped. Under the leadership of Hashim, they retreated to the Iron Gate Pass and defended it to the death.

Tiemenguan is a natural beauty, with a ravine between two mountains and the Peacock River flowing through the ravine. It is very difficult to capture it without heavy artillery.

Hashim was the most powerful general under Yakub Beg and was also a veteran of many battles. He arranged defenses at Tiemen Pass and finally stabilized the situation.

In this battle, more than 12,000 enemy soldiers were killed or wounded, and most of the Kokand people were shot in the back, stabbed, or shot by arrows.

In the favorable battle of chasing and killing the enemy, even the undisciplined rebel army in the city still reaped rich rewards.

There were still 4,000 defeated Kokand soldiers scattered into the countryside. Their fate was miserable, and it would have been worse for them to have died on the spot and suffered the pain of being stabbed and shot.

The lone Kokand soldiers were killed by angry civilians. They were basically tortured and died in various ways.

Korla was completely liberated.

It was already dark, and Shao Quanzhong ordered two Gansu cavalry battalions to monitor the enemy troops at Tiemen Pass to prevent them from rushing out to cause trouble. The rest of the people set up camp on the spot and rest.

The Huai Army advanced lightly and did not bring many tents with them, so the rebel army that was chasing them had no tents at all.

Fortunately, today is the second day of the sixth lunar month. The weather is starting to get hot, but there is a cool breeze at night, so it is quite comfortable outdoors.

The Huai Army's camp was set up outside, and the open space in the middle was filled with rebels whose calves were cramping from running.

The Torghuts, on the other hand, were not tired at all. They had gone through the difficult journey of thousands of miles back east and could even sleep on horseback. The Mongols were a true fighting nation.

The next day, Shao Quanzhong ordered the soldiers to distribute all the dry food equally to the rebels. The Torghut people did not want it and gave their food quota to other rebels.

They carried cheese, beef jerky, and could drink mare's milk; they were used to the hard work.

Shao Quanzhong looked at the honest Mongolian warriors and sighed, "They are really good soldiers. It's such a waste to just let them herd sheep."

One battalion of Gansu infantry and two battalions of cavalry were stationed on the east side of Tiemen Pass, confronting the Kokand soldiers in the ravine behind the pass. The rest of the troops returned to Korla, cleaning up the battlefield as they went.

Halfway through the journey, fellow villagers from Korla came driving camels and pushing carts to bring food to the soldiers.

The people who delivered the food came from all ethnic groups and were very close to each other.

It seems that the situation in southern Xinjiang is different from that in northern Xinjiang. The arrival of the Kokand people united everyone. The fellow tribesmen of the northern Xinjiang bandits in southern Xinjiang also joined the ranks to fight against the Kokand people.

When the army returned to Korla, Grant and his logistics team had already arrived.

"Report, we have completely seized three companies of four-pound light field guns and three companies of six-pound light field guns under Yakub Beg, as well as a large amount of artillery shells and gunpowder."

"Report, we have seized more than 10,000 Enfield rifles and a large amount of bullets. Once the bodies of the Kokand scattered among the people are found, there will be more."

"We seized 4,000 war horses and more than 6,000 camels, but no food."

The matter of seizing points was handed over to Wu Ziyi, and Shao Quanzhong began to consider the next strategy.

(End of this chapter)