Chapter 505: Battle of Kuaiji

Chapter 505: Battle of Kuaiji

Chapter 505: Battle of Kuaiji
Xiao Xia stared grimly at the overwhelming Shanyue army. The deafening shouts of killing echoed across the plains. The Shanyue army was like a flood that broke through a dam, roaring and sweeping towards the two large formations of the Sui army. They were only half a mile away from them, and the dark mass covered the sky and the sun.

The Sui army soldiers half-crouched collectively. They calmly pulled the strings and loaded arrows. Twenty thousand crossbows were raised at the same time, pointing forward at a thirty-degree angle. The twenty thousand Sui army archers were arranged in five rows, with each row about ten steps apart.

This is the typical combat style of the Sui army, all-out attack and defense, and full force output.

Three hundred steps... Two hundred and eighty steps... The Shanyue troops were getting closer and closer, and their hideous faces could even be seen clearly.

Two hundred and fifty steps!
Xiao Xia waved his hand, "Fire!"

"Woo——" a low horn sounded.

The Sui army suddenly fired 20,000 arrows at once. The powerful arrows soared into the sky like a large dark cloud, and fell like a dense rainstorm, directly attacking the Shanyue army soldiers.

"Puff! Puff! Puff!" Arrows rained down like rain, leaving no room for escape. The sharp arrowheads pierced through the leather armor of the Shanyue soldiers and penetrated their flesh. The thousands of Shanyue soldiers in the front immediately let out wails and screams, and groups of soldiers fell to the ground...
After the first round of shooting by the Sui army, they immediately sat down and used their feet and arms to pull the strings. The crossbows used by the Sui army were single-soldier crossbows, somewhat similar to the Shenbi crossbow invented during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. The bow was three feet three inches long, the string was two feet five inches long, and it used long-pole arrows. The arrows were heavy and had strong penetrating power, with a range of up to three hundred steps.

After the first round of shooting, 20,000 Sui soldiers fired another 20,000 arrows in the second round. The overwhelming arrows covered the sky over the plains. Then came the third round...

The entire field was littered with the corpses of Shanyue soldiers, piled up layer upon layer, blood flowed like a river, and the bloody smell in the air was pungent and unpleasant.

The Sui army launched five consecutive rounds of shooting, firing 100,000 arrows, and the number of Shanyue people seriously injured or killed exceeded 25,000. The wounded had no way back and ultimately had only death.

The Shanyue army also changed its formation. The less than 30,000 auxiliary troops left in the front crawled backwards, revealing the 30,000 main forces behind them.

Lan Zhaotian was not a fool. He would not let his main army rush to the front and be hit by arrows. Instead, he would let 50,000 auxiliary troops rush to the front to cover the 30,000 main troops behind.

But the Sui army's formation was too powerful. Even the main force of the Shanyue soldiers were a little frightened. They stepped on the corpses on the ground. Although they continued to rush forward, their speed had obviously slowed down and their steps became heavier. When they were only fifty steps away from the Sui army, they actually stopped. No one dared to charge forward anymore.

Xiao Xia did not expect that the other side had not collapsed despite such heavy casualties. It seemed that he still underestimated the Shanyue people. However, the arrow formation was just an appetizer. If the other side wanted to fight, let them taste the powerful impact of the infantry and lance formation.

"Order the phalanx to attack!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The inspiring sound of war drums rang out.

The morale of the two armies of ten thousand men was high, they ran in formation, twenty thousand halberds flashed with cold light, and the murderous aura rushed straight to the sky.

"Woo--" the low sound of the horn was heard again, echoing in the wilderness. It was Xiao Xia, the chief general of the Sui army, who personally blew the horn of attack. The 20,000 infantrymen were like a tornado sweeping across the continent, sweeping towards the Shanyue soldiers with great force.

There was no room for thinking at a distance of fifty steps. Twenty thousand Sui troops had already arrived before their eyes, and their strong morale completely overwhelmed the Shanyue soldiers.

Many Shanyue soldiers shouted in fear, and Lan Zhaotian's face turned pale with shock. Only then did he realize that he had made an extremely stupid mistake and it was too late to retreat.

Lan Zhaotian had no choice but to bite the bullet and shout, "Go ahead! Go ahead and fight!"

The 10,000 infantrymen on the left wing were like the most violent storm. Under the leadership of Pei Xingyan, they rushed into the enemy's ranks in an instant. Their spear blades chopped out, heads flew obliquely, and their spear tips pierced through the hearts. In an instant, corpses were everywhere on the ground and blood flowed like a river. The Sui army was unstoppable and the cruel killing was so fierce that the Shanyue army was frightened and turned around and fled.

At this time, the right-wing infantry of the Sui army, led by Luo Shixin, also arrived. They and the left-wing army were like two sharp knives, one on the left and the other on the right, strangling the main force of the Shanyue army, causing a river of blood and forcing them to retreat step by step.

Lan Zhaotian was so stunned that he forgot to order military support.

At this time, 10,000 Shanyue troops took the initiative to attack without receiving any military orders. Lan Ankui led 10,000 spear infantry to attack the flank of the Sui left wing infantry. Lan Ankui was more anxious than anyone else. Although they had a large army, except for the 50,000 main forces, the remaining 80,000 troops could not be relied on at all.

If they don't curb the unstoppable momentum of the Sui army, they will surely suffer a crushing defeat in this battle. Although Lan Ankui knew that he had attacked on his own and seriously violated military orders, he had no choice but to risk it in order to save the lives of his brothers and turn the tide of the battle.

Lan Ankui waved his spear, roared and led 10,000 infantrymen to fight against the left wing infantry of the Sui army. Only then did Lan Zhaotian wake up from his dream. He ordered another 10,000 infantrymen to go forward to resist the right wing infantry of the Sui army.

Fifty thousand infantrymen against twenty thousand infantrymen, yellow dust rolled, the sky was bleak, only shadows of people could be seen swaying, the formation of the Sui army changed like a revolving lantern, and the shouts of killing shook the sky...
Hundreds of steps away, Xiao Xia, holding a sword in his hand, watched the fierce battle in front of him. The sunlight penetrated the dust and mist and shone on his face, making his marble-like hard cheeks covered with a faint sheen, which further revealed the coldness and ruthlessness in his eyes.

Behind him, ten thousand cavalrymen formed ten formations, the troops were neat and orderly. Xiao Xia had rich combat experience, and he looked for the enemy's weaknesses like a patient hunter.

At this time, Xiao Xia's sharp eyes had already seen the enemy's weakness, that is, all of their 50,000 main forces were pressed forward, so who was protecting the enemy commander.

Xiao Xia raised his clairvoyance and looked again at the enemy formation a mile away. He saw the enemy commander wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, with only hundreds of armored cavalry protecting him.

Although there were 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers behind them, none of them wore leather armor. They were all dressed in cloth, holding worn swords, or even hoes and wooden sticks.

This is the enemy’s weakness. The commander-in-chief is actually protected by a mob.

Xiao Xia called the Xue brothers over and told them: "You lead the cavalry to attack the 80,000-strong army, but remember, the mob army is not important, the key is to defeat the 50,000 main forces. Once the 50,000 enemy troops are defeated, you must immediately fight back!"

The Xue brothers understood the hint and left.

Xiao Xia shouted, "Cavalry, prepare! Charge at the enemy's rear."

He drew out his sword, raised it high, and shouted in a stern voice: "Let them have a taste of the power of the Sui cavalry. Kill--"

"Kill!"

The Sui cavalry finally launched their attack. This was the moment they had been waiting for for a long time. A murderous aura rose into the sky. Ten thousand cavalrymen charged towards the 80,000 Shanyue Army in the distance like an overwhelming force.

The 80,000 rear troops were all ordinary people who had never seen any war and had not received any training. Faced with the 10,000 cavalrymen who were coming at them like a landslide, the 80,000 people collapsed in an instant and scrambled to escape.

Lan Zhaotian was so frightened that he had no choice but to turn his horse around and flee with the soldiers. Hundreds of his personal soldiers closely guarded him and they had no time to care about the army that was fighting hard.

The escape of the 80,000 rear troops and the commander-in-chief became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The morale of the 50,000 troops, which were already unable to hold on, collapsed and they were defeated across the board.

But the 10,000 Sui cavalry suddenly turned around and cut off their retreat. With nowhere to go, the 50,000-strong army knelt down and surrendered. Lan Ankui forced his soldiers to fight again, but was shot in the throat by Pei Xingyan's arrow.

Lan Zhaotian fled to the city in one breath and shouted, "Open the gate!"

Fan Shicheng appeared on the top of the city wall. He pointed at the thick phlegm on his face and said coldly: "Your Majesty, this phlegm is still on my face!"

Lan Zhaotian was stunned for a long while, then he could only sigh and flee to Yuyao County with his men.

In May of the fourth year of Daye, a great battle took place in Kuaiji County. King Xiao Xia of Jin led 30,000 infantry and cavalry to defeat 150,000 Shanyue troops. 36,000 people were beheaded and 40,000 soldiers surrendered. Lan Zhaotian led less than a thousand people to escape back to Yuyao County, while the casualties of the Sui army were only more than 2,000.

(End of this chapter)