dtnovels Chapter 2275 - 2250: Reinforcements
Chapter 2275 - 2250: Reinforcements
The distance gradually closed in, and Assistant General Nie drew his long blade and shouted at Bai Shan and Manbao, "Go quickly—"
He then ordered, "Brothers, draw your blades to block the enemy, our reinforcements have arrived, just half a quarter of an hour—"
Bai Shan glanced back; with enemies pursuing from behind, especially cavalry, turning around to fight was impossible. If they turned around, they would be killed before even reacting.
Assistant General Nie clearly understood this too, and was prepared to use sacrifices to pave the way for them.
Bai Shan turned his head to Manbao, "You are the officer in charge, order them to split up and escape."
Due to the fast horses, the wind was so loud that Manbao could barely hear him. She turned and shouted, "No, such a disorganized retreat would greatly affect morale."
Bai Shan replied, "But it will buy us a moment, and reinforcements will arrive in that moment, and they will restore morale."
Manbao was willing, but Assistant General Nie clearly did not want to. It was a disgrace, and the soldiers had their pride; they did not obey Zhou Man and Bai Shan’s orders, but accelerated forward and then split to the sides, bending around instead of going directly, speeding up to circle behind and directly confront the Tubo army.
As Manbao and Bai Shan fled and glanced back, they saw Assistant General Nie and Junior General Meng leading them in two wings, looping around to counterattack, charging into the Tubo army like two sharp blades, and the troops instantly clashed with each other.
Manbao forced back her tears and accelerated with Bai Shan to leave. The Tubo army was only slightly obstructed before part of the central army split off to continue pursuing them.
They were fast, and within moments they caught up, Bai Shan and Manbao with their guards, including Daji, stayed behind to guard the rear. Their palms were sweaty from tension, the heart of the Western Regions was too dangerous, why was the Western Region so dangerous?
As this thought flashed by, pounding hooves echoed from the dunes, and they finally saw the reinforcements charging ahead.
Great Jin’s cavalry drew their long blades, rushing down from the dunes with a murderous aura, Manbao and Bai Shan were stunned by the aura, while Chiji and Daoli let out startled cries...
The troop swiftly swept past her, heading directly towards the Tubo army behind them...
Chiji and Daoli ran forward a bit more before stopping, and the two turned their horses to look back, seeing the Great Jin cavalry already entangled with the Tubo cavalry, charging directly into the formation, slaughtering as they went, exiting and re-entering the formation repeatedly, scattering the Tubo army instantly.
Manbao and Bai Shan stared blankly, exchanging glances, feeling a huge sense of relief.
The infantry arrived, though they came running, their ranks were orderly, holding long knives and axes, advancing from the flanks per command.
With their long blades and axes, never mind that now the Tubo cavalry couldn’t fend off the infantry, even if they could, they wouldn’t be much trouble.
Anxi infantry versus Tubo infantry was like cutting cabbages, decisively sharp.
Bai Erlang, having ridden far away, trotted back to observe the battlefield with Bai Shan and the others, glimpsing the bloodshed, he slightly turned away, asking, "Should we retreat a little further?"
Bai Shan clenched the reins and asked, "Do you feel your blood boiling?"
Bai Erlang: "I just want to vomit."
Manbao glanced at him, turned her horse’s head to chase the carts, and said, "Set up the medical tent."
As a doctor, that’s all she could do, she can’t do anything else.
Bai Shan took one look at the battlefield and could only suppress his emotions and follow to set up the medical tent.
Leading the reinforcements was Guo Xiao’s eldest son, Guo Zhao, who was familiar with Junior General Meng, and once the battle ended, they left the battlefield arm in arm.
Once outside, they found a tent set up on the sheltered side of the dune, and the wounded from the battlefield were being sent there.
He paused and stopped a soldier to ask, "Did we bring military medics?"
Junior General Meng touched his newly split wound on his abdomen, covered it, and said to him, "It’s Imperial Doctor Zhou from the Imperial Hospital, also the envoy leader, didn’t you know who you were rescuing?"
Guo Zhao looked puzzled, "No, the soldiers who returned for help said you were being targeted by the Tubo army on the road, I came to save you."
After all, it was their father and son who requested reinforcements from Shazhou, and since they brought troops to support, encountering the Tubo army, they couldn’t just abandon people, so he hurried to bring people for a rescue.
Junior General Meng: ...
He immediately turned to find Assistant General Nie.
Assistant General Nie was injured too, holding his wound while being supported from behind, and upon hearing them, he replied through gritted teeth, "It was Young Master Bai who instructed this, I didn’t say anything."
Guo Zhao turned to Junior General Meng and asked, "Who’s Young Master Bai again?"
Junior General Meng sighed, "He is Imperial Doctor Zhou’s fiancé."
Guo Zhao was somewhat contemptuous, "Going on duty and bringing relatives? Besides, this isn’t even a relative, right?"
Junior General Meng then added, "Also a student of Chongwen Pavilion, heard he became a scholar last year."
Guo Zhao: "..."
He grabbed Meng’s neck, shook it, and said, "Can you stop talking so breathlessly?"
He asked, "What is a Chongwen Pavilion student doing here? Just so you know, we will only obey orders from His Majesty in Anxi."
"You’re overthinking," Junior General Meng said, "They didn’t even try to recruit Yumen Pass, they’re just taking the opportunity to study while following along."
"Really?"
Junior General Meng sighed, "Do you know how long it took them to travel from Liangzhou to our Yumen Pass?"
Guo Zhao thought about it, "Ten days?"
Junior General Meng smiled wryly.
Guo Zhao: "Eight days, no more, even with all that baggage, it would take eight days to get here at a forced march, right?"
Junior General Meng said, "Thirty-six days."
Guo Zhao: "... Are they turtles?"
"That’s why I said they were studying, don’t worry, no one intends to bring your Anxi army into the fold, and what is there to recruit?" Junior General Meng scornfully remarked, "Just look at what you’ve done to the Western Regions, it’s all scattered everywhere, a bit of wind and grass causes chaos, that one isn’t foolish, they won’t recruit good places like the Central Plains, and instead come to recruit this godforsaken spot in the Western Regions?"
"Shut up, even if management is lacking this time, it’s me who saved you," Guo Zhao said, "Gaochang has only been taken for a few years, my father has done well gathering so many places and pushing Western Turkic to Suiye. Very good. You Yumen Pass are still inside the gates, aren’t bandits rampant too?"
Junior General Meng said, "The bandits should soon be wiped out, don’t worry, within two months this commercial route will flourish again. Otherwise, my father wouldn’t have let me lead troops to support you in Anxi."
The two walked shoulder to shoulder towards the medical tent, though they did not meet Zhou Man, Bai Shan, and the others, because they were too busy.