Chapter 41 Rout
Yang Liang and Shi Wansui were confronting the main Turkic force led by Dahan Khan, now also known as Buga Khan.

Before the two sides had time to engage in battle, Bujia Khan asked the scout cavalry: "How many soldiers are there in total, and who is the Sui general?

"The troops have not yet been identified. The commander of the Sui army is Yang Liang, the son of the Sui emperor. He has Shi Wansui, Zhang Ding, Li Yaowang, and Yang Yichen under his command!"

"Shi Wansui!" Bujia Khan asked hurriedly, "Is it the Dunhuang garrison soldier Shi Wansui?"

The scout also replied with a bitter face: "Yes."

Buqa Khan felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and subconsciously wanted to order a withdrawal. In addition to fearing Gao Zuo and respecting Changsun Sheng, the Turks were most afraid of two people, the Dunhuang garrison commander and the Dunhuang garrison soldiers.

In their early years in Dunhuang, these two men were even more brutal than the Turks. When they had nothing to do, they would ride deep into the heartland of the Turks, often going hundreds of miles deep, plundering sheep and horses and burning and killing various Turkic tribes at will.

These two people came and went like the wind, coming vertically and walking sideways, and were extremely domineering.

The Turks wanted to kill the two men, but they could not defeat them when they were outnumbered, and could not catch up with them when they were outnumbered. They could only let them slaughter them for fun. Over the years, they would tremble with fear when they heard the name of the Dunhuang duo.

Fortunately, the commander of the Dunhuang garrison died of illness later, and Shi Wansui was transferred elsewhere. However, news of Shi Wansui's military achievements and reputation continued to spread, causing the news to become more and more serious.

At this time, the front army had already started a small-scale exploratory battle. The infantry phalanx of the Sui army was very tight, with chariots, cavalry and infantry coordinating with each other. Deer antlers, thorns and other objects were placed all around the formation, and the cavalry stayed in the innermost part, ready to fight.

The Turkic side was a bit crude, but they had more cavalry, and their infantry was not even fully equipped with spears, let alone protective gear, and their formation was not as tight as that of the Sui army.

Moreover, after Shi Wansui rode out on horseback to challenge him, his momentum was somewhat weakened. It was really that his reputation was too terrifying, and every Turk with ears had heard of it.

Shi Wansui is very angry now. King Yang Liang of Han does not listen to him. He just wants to use the stupid method of defending the status quo. In the battle with the Turks last year, Yang Su's cavalry defeated more than 100,000 Turkish cavalry head-on. It can be seen that the way to defend oneself is not the way to win.

He believed that he was better than Yang Su in leading cavalry charges, not to mention that he had Qimin Khan's elite Turkic cavalry under his command. He would not even pick up the credit that fell from the sky. No wonder he could not become the crown prince.

If it weren't for the emperor's secret decree requiring him to obey the orders of the King of Han, he would have already sidelined the King of Han and engaged in a hearty cavalry battle with the Turks.

However, Buqa Khan had already begun to think about retreating. He could not afford to lose, so he thought about withdrawing his troops temporarily and attacking from other places, hoping to achieve some results to consolidate his position.

This side has a solid battle formation and is led by Shi Wansui, which is not an easy bone to chew. If he loses, the Turkic people that he has integrated with great difficulty will immediately fall apart.

Buqa Khan had a good idea. He thought that the two sides had not yet fought to a stalemate and that he could retreat calmly by sacrificing a few soldiers. He also thought that the Sui army would not dare to catch up, so he ordered a withdrawal.

But he forgot that the Turkic soldiers were already terrified, and when they heard the order to withdraw, the entire corps fell into chaos. Even the Sui army, which had just formed a chariot formation on the opposite side, was stunned.

They had just clashed, and the combined casualties on both sides were only a few hundred. How come they started to flee?

When the news reached the ears of King Yang Liang of Han, he thought that this was a strategy of the Turks to lure the enemy out of their solid military formation so that they could launch a surprise attack. Therefore, he ordered his troops to guard their positions strictly and not to move lightly.

Shi Wansui, who was in the front army, saw that this level of rout could not be staged, and even if it was staged, given the military discipline of the Turks, they could not immediately integrate and turn around to fight the Sui army. As long as he led the cavalry to charge in fiercely, whether it was real or fake, they would only be completely defeated.

Shi Wansui ignored Yang Liang's order. He used his prestige in the army to force the front army to obey his orders, abandon their cumbersome formations, and begin pursuing the Turks.

Regardless of the small remnant troops, Shi Wansui only held on to the Khan's flag and chased after them. After catching up, he led his troops straight in, attacking with the energy of wind, thunder and cold light, riding a horse in the front, thrusting left and right, and with the long spear in his hand, there was no enemy who could match him.

The morale of the Sui cavalry and Qimin Khan's Turkic cavalry was high. They beheaded thousands of enemies in one breath and chased the enemies northward for hundreds of miles into the desert. They returned with great satisfaction.

…………

As for Li Jiancheng, Yang Su had just won a great victory last year, and now he wanted to show his ability in front of the prince. How could he use conservative battle formations and still use those harsh means?

Before the battle, nearly a hundred soldiers who violated military discipline during the march were beheaded as a sacrifice to the flag, and then the 2,200 vanguards took turns to fight. Those who died in the battle were killed, but those who dared to be afraid and not move forward were killed immediately.

When the soldiers were almost stimulated, they started a head-on battle. He didn't care about his own casualties at all, especially since the vanguard were the Turkic surrendered cavalry brought by Changsun Sheng, so he showed no mercy.

After two days of this, the Turkic side could no longer bear it, but they were still able to hold on, hoping that their Khan would make progress.

Yang Guang was not Yang Liang. He entrusted all military power to Yang Su and stayed safely in the central military tent, listening to the news from the front army from time to time. Although he was a little worried, he did not put pressure on the generals.

Li Jiancheng could only stay by Yang Guang's side. Fortunately, there was a sand table in the central army tent, and every move of the two armies would be reported. The staff and military officers who stayed here would also tell the prince about the battle situation and the pros and cons of the Duke of Yue's response. This was also a rare learning opportunity.

Before Yang Su could make a breakthrough, Chang Sun Sheng, who had disappeared for a long time, came back first. Then, people and animals in the Turkic army began to get sick and die after drinking the water.

Zhang Sunsheng's accomplice also spread rumors among the Turkic army that "it is raining bad water, is it going to destroy us?" The Turkic army, which was already unable to hold on, began to flee.

This was the credit of Changsun Sheng. Yang Guang ordered Changsun Sheng to lead his troops in pursuit, and they successfully killed more than a thousand Turkic soldiers, captured more than a hundred people, and captured countless horses.

Yang Su was a little embarrassed. He did make contributions in this battle, but they were not decisive. For someone of his status, it was already a failure.

Because he and Li Jiancheng had suppressed He Ruobi together, Yang Su did not deliberately suppress him. He took the initiative to let Yang Xuangan and Li Jiancheng lead their troops to pursue the remnants of the Turks to gain some merit. Yang Guang naturally had no objection.

Li Jiancheng led his family generals in pursuit. They could not catch up with the Turkic cavalry, but the infantry could not run far in a short period of time. He picked a direction and caught up with them like shooting rabbits. After shooting two of them dead steadily, he put away his bow and reined in his horse.

His generals excitedly rushed forward to harvest their heads. Without chariots and military formations, the infantry were no different from straw in front of the cavalry.

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(End of this chapter)