Chapter 6666: Farewell

Chapter 6666: Farewell

Mangzhong's requirement for the eldest son is to launch a wave every ten seconds. The speed does not require to be very fast, but it must not be chaotic. When launching, just circle the direction of Fu Ward and shoot to death. As for the others, even if the enemy rushes in front of him, he must not be chaotic and must shoot in a uniform manner.

In addition to the first wave of arrows, there were waves of spears afterwards. The terrifying speed brought by the sudden burst of power was such that even a wooden spear could inadvertently cause damage and death to the most elite troops under Fuward's command.

"My men, follow me!" Mangzhong held the gun and stabbed the elite headquarters of the camel cavalry fiercely. Relying on his strong body and the advantage of physical strength from being well rested, with the cooperation of the guards, he stabbed a camel cavalry commander to death with a few hits.

At the same time, more camel riders rushed up. As top elites who had participated in the War of Empires, even if they were ambushed, even if they were at the critical point of cooking, even if they were still a little hungry because they missed a meal, they did not panic when facing the sudden attack of Mangzhong. Instead, they gripped their weapons tightly at the first moment.

Afterwards, the middle and lower-level officers headed by the Centurions immediately commanded the sergeants to identify the main direction of the attack, and then organized people to start counterattacking Mangzhong on the spot.

That's right, these well-trained middle and lower-level officers performed almost at the same level as good generals like Fu Ward in the initial response to chaos and emergencies.

So even though Mangzhong caught Fu Ward off guard, he was not able to attack Fu Ward's camp in one go as Mangzhong had expected, with a large-scale gun formation directly breaking into Fu Ward's camp and creating a gap in Fu Ward's temporary camp.

But one move is not enough, there is a second move. I came earlier than you and am here to block you. I must have at least three moves.

The frontal attack failed to gain the upper hand and was even suppressed. Even Mangzhong, the next leader of the Qiang people in the northwestern Tibetan area, was slightly injured. Although this wave of gun attack directly caused hundreds of casualties, the Kushan soldiers gradually stabilized their position in the chaos.

In this case, the second and third teams that had been arranged long ago pressed forward from both wings, fully demonstrating the Qiang people's military advantage, and waving their flags, they ordered their eldest sons to throw javelins with spear heads.

That's right, although the Qiang people were poor, they had the support of the Han Dynasty after all, and they still had iron spear heads. However, on the one hand, Mangzhong did not have enough time to make so many javelins, and on the other hand, even if they were all iron javelins, they might not be effective in the hands of the Qiang people under his command.

In view of this, it is better to use sharpened wooden spears first. When the Kushans have adapted to the attacks of wooden spears and have begun to use shoulder armor and breastplate when they cannot dodge in time, they can use iron javelins to throw two rounds at the opponent.

"Switch to iron javelins!" Mangzhong's eldest son commanded the only team among the Qiang people in the northwest of the Tibetan area who had the talent for instant burst of strength. He ordered them to pull out one of the three javelins on the right side in front of them. After adjusting their breathing, they threw the javelins in the direction of the Kushan elite in the best condition.

The Kushan elite, who had already suffered five waves of spears and lost dozens of men, and half of them were injured, had already realized how to deal with these wooden spears.

The power is not weak. If the camel rider has no armor, he will die on the spot if hit in the vitals. But if he has armor, he will have to use the armor to block it and be prepared to parry. At most he will get bruises and feel a little stuffy. Even if he makes a mistake in parrying, as long as he is not hit in the unarmored part, he will be fine.

So when faced with this wave of spear attacks, the experienced camel riders made conventional parries based on their previous experience.

The Kushan elite had already stabilized their position and maintained a smooth arc on the battle line. Under the command of Fuward and Sidney, they were ready to take on the young and strong Qiang people extending from the left and right sides with minimal losses, and then try to counterattack and escape from the battle.

At this time, Fu Ward's face was obviously gloomy, and Sidney even had sweat on his forehead. He couldn't understand why Mangzhong would rush out from here. You know, it was just an accident that they thought of this route before.

But now such an unexpected thing happened right in front of Ward and Sidney.

"It's not a big problem. They are isolated. We can defeat them with all our strength." When the iron javelin came flying, Fu Ward gave an extremely firm order, "Just Qiang people!"

The iron javelins whistled and fell on the heads of the Kushan soldiers who were preparing to parry the Qiang people's tridents. The dense battle line that was suitable for parrying the Qiang people's assault was undoubtedly at a disadvantage when facing javelins.

The Kushan elite, who already had experience in how to deal with wooden javelins, reflexively used their armor to withstand the attacks when they were unable to dodge or block.

A tragic scene appeared in front of the advancing Qiang people. Many camel riders, who were unable to dodge or block because their formation was too dense, chose to use their armor to block the javelins. However, unlike the previous wooden spears, the iron javelins could not penetrate the armor of the shield guards, but they had no problem tearing apart ordinary chain mail.

The camel cavalry is not a legion known for its defense, especially after losing their mounts, they are unable to share qualities. Their hard data is only slightly stronger than the ordinary blank double talents. They rely entirely on practical experience and the judgment of the situation by the middle and lower-level backbones to win battles again and again when facing the Qiang people.

A corps that relies on reliable skills and experience to win will reveal its hidden shortcomings when it can only compete with hard data.

It's not fragile, but it can still be easily penetrated by high-powered spears thrown with instant burst of force.

That’s right, some powerful javelins, if thrown at a good angle, could even penetrate a camel rider.

It was just an accident. The elite Kushan troops led by Fu Ward, who retreated all the way here from the Zhangzhung Dynasty with a loss of less than a thousand, suffered hundreds of casualties in an instant.

There may be less than a hundred people who were killed on the spot, but there were hundreds of soldiers who were pierced through by powerful spears and were seriously injured and wailing. Such a tragic scene was hard to bear even for the elite Kushans who had experienced many battles.

It's not that they haven't encountered javelins before, but even the javelins thrown by the Western Liang Iron Cavalry had never beaten this group of people like this before. After they arrived in Tibet, there were huge problems with logistics supply. In addition, without the powerful qualities shared by camels, they could not wear heavy armor over the chain mail, resulting in extremely limited strength that the camel cavalry could exert.

The significant decline in both offense and defense resulted in a great loss in this competition of hard qualities, which led to an extremely embarrassing scene.

"Haha, boys, follow me!" Mang Zhong, who was slashed by the opposing soldier and slightly injured, did not bother to bandage himself or apply medicine when he saw such a bloody scene, and rushed forward with a wild laugh.

Sidney's hands and feet were already cold when he saw this scene. He had realized a fatal flaw in Fuward's elite troops, and immediately rushed over to grab Fuward, "General, you lead your men to retreat westward quickly, directly into the northern Tibetan mountainous area from here, and then follow the general direction to the Karakoram Corridor. I will stop them first. We can't fight anymore, retreat quickly."

"A mere 20,000 Qiang people can't stop me!" Fu Ward angrily unfolded his mind image. After attaining enlightenment in Tibet, Fu Ward's strength not only increased to the level of breaking through the realm, but his mind image was also further strengthened. It was only because of some restrictions that Fu Ward had never used it before.

The dozens of victories and hundreds of draws brought by the balance of war have blessed the Kushan elite. Unlike the previous blessing which was only more than 20%, after Fuward achieved breakthrough and enlightenment, he had a deeper grasp of the mind image, further distorted the rules of the balance, eliminated the adverse effects of failure, and obtained the means to burst out in a short time.

That is to say, like Li Jue, the innate power and mental image blessing will be fully unleashed in a certain period of time, bringing an extreme blessing effect in a short period of time, and then an extremely long cooling time.

Li Jue's eggshell defense is actually the basis of the Iron Cavalry's idealistic defense. It is a terrifying defensive ability that almost allows arrows to hit one's face when the long-lasting power of the legion's innate talent is fully unleashed within a quarter of an hour.

Because Fu Ward suffered such a terrible defeat in that battle, and the direct attack from the Western Liang Iron Cavalry was too shocking for Fu Ward, when he took the step of mental advancement, Fu Ward naturally chose to compress the burst time in exchange for a higher burst intensity.

As Fuward roared, the dim glow quickly extended to every Kushan soldier. The explosive improvement allowed the Kushan elite who were caught off guard to stabilize their position on the spot.

Fu Ward's path is just like camel riding. There is nothing fancy about it. It is just a pure improvement in strength, speed, and defense. What the camel cavalry lacks most after losing their mounts is numerical values. After Fu Ward's mind image supplemented the numerical values, the camel cavalry soldiers truly demonstrated their due combat effectiveness.

The sword was slashed out, and the pure power and speed brought out an explosive sound in a flash of light. Just by hearing this sound, Mangzhong, who was facing it head-on, felt something was wrong. He tried his best to block the attack with his spear, and the numbness in his arms made Mangzhong look extremely ugly.

A mere captain under Fu Ward actually suppressed him in a head-on battle. You know, as Qiang people, the habit of the strong preying on the weak is almost instinctive. Although the chief may not be the strongest person in the tribe, he is at least one of the strongest. Otherwise, the position of the chief cannot be stable at all.

However, Mangzhong, who is considered the strongest among the Qiang people in the northwest of the Tibetan area, was only strong enough to compete with the team rate under Fu Ward when Fu Ward used his mind image to really go all out to kill the Qiang people who were blocking him.

In fact, this is the biggest difference between the level below the empire and the level above. Without a formed dual-talent legion, there is no chance to master the essence of talent, and it will be difficult to smelt and strengthen one's own foundation.

After a long time, it will lead to the situation that even though Mangzhong, who has also cultivated Qi into Gang, is a blank slate and faces an opponent who has refined Qi, he will fall into a disadvantage.

This gap may not be obvious at first glance, but as time goes on, the more elite talents the empire analyzes, the more complete the system of ordinary legions becomes, and the more people can make it to the end.

In other words, people who have not been exposed to this system can only rely on their own aptitude and understanding to analyze it, while people who have been exposed to this system can move forward step by step. Perhaps in terms of the upper limit, the former has a greater possibility, but in terms of the lower limit, the latter is more guaranteed.

Everything that Newton created with his own qualifications and understanding can be touched by people in later generations in high school or college. This is the difference between being unsystematic and being systematic. It is not that the latter is better than the former, but that the latter stands on the shoulders of the former.

The same is true for the soldiers under Fu Ward and Mangzhong. It is not that the soldiers under Fu Ward are more qualified than Mangzhong. It can only be said that the Qiang people's power system is too inferior. Without connecting with the Han power system, it is too inferior.

This is also the reason why Fu Ward is confident that he can crush the Qiang people even when the troop strength ratio is as high as five to one. Numbers are just numbers!

They collapsed at the first touch, and after regaining their due strength, the camel cavalry's hard power almost crushed the Qiang people.

But it was just a near crushing victory. If they were stronger, the Qiang people led by Mangzhong would surely collapse due to the difference in strength. But they did not. The camel cavalry, after exerting their full strength, did not flee when faced with Mangzhong, who was determined to die and did not retreat even when his second son died in battle.

With more people, more complete preparations, and the initiative to destroy nearly a quarter of Fu Ward's troops, Fu Ward, who had only a little over 3,000 troops left, was unable to crush Mangzhong, who was determined to fight to the death to avenge his humiliation.

"Throw spears, Shi Mang, lead the spear formation and prepare for the second round of assault, and fight against Fu Ward. We have reinforcements, and he is just a lone soldier!" Mangzhong was nailed to the ground by a spear. After being dragged back by a group of followers, he shouted to his deputy general.

Simple and crude tactics, javelin suppression, infantry spear charge, Mangzhong can't do any other fancy things, but these two are enough. Fu Ward doesn't have many arrows to use, and can't suppress the spear formation. He can only rely on the strength of his elite infantry to suppress it from the front.

After all, they have to suppress the enemy. If they really relax the suppression on the front and let the spear array pass through Fuward's front line, it is true that the spearmen exposed in the rear may be easily killed by Fuward's infantry, but the Qiang people who rush forward can really cut off Fuward's headquarters.

With Fu Ward's current strength, if the battle line is really cut, even if they can still be reunited, hundreds of people will probably die. And Fu Ward, whose strength has been suppressed to just over 3,000, can it afford to lose hundreds more?

Well, even if he can withstand it, what if Mangzhong keeps doing this? He will die two or three times, and Fuward will lose even himself.

So he could only hold on and suppress the enemy from the front. However, facing Mangzhong's repeated charges and the Qiang people's fearless and daring attacks, Fu Ward really couldn't break the situation.

"General, take your men westward into the northern Tibetan mountains and retreat." Sidney personally led the elite troops to repel Shi Mang's gun attack. When he retreated, he saw that Fu Ward was gasping for breath. He grabbed Fu Ward's wrist and suggested again, but this time, Fu Ward did not break free.

After realizing this, Sidney was clearly aware that the balance of the war for Fu Ward was about to end. But think about it, from noon to the time when Fu Ward opened his mind image, half an hour had passed, and now another hour has passed.

The Fuwode and Qiang people, who are close to the northern Tibetan mountains, are now completely covered by the shadow of the mountains. The high mountains on the west have completely blocked the sunlight for a long time.

At the very least, it was a very long time for such a powerful mental image, so long that the Qiang people may have lost more than 5,000 people. However, despite such exaggerated casualties, the Qiang people still did not retreat, but Fu Ward was almost at his limit.

"General, let's retreat." Sidney said very formally, grabbing the wrist of Ward who was still trying to rush forward.

In the current situation, Fu Ward's heart seemed to be about to stop. He had suddenly lost his blessing. His elite troops were already tired and hungry after fighting for so long, and had not even had lunch. It was good enough that they were not suppressed by the Qiang people on the spot, let alone being suppressed by them.

"I..." Fu Ward looked at Sidney in silence.

The scale of four thousand people and the scale of three thousand people are completely different things. In the former, Fu Ward's desperate explosion of the Heart Elephant could crush more than 20,000 Qiang people who were truly determined to stop Fu Ward, but the first-hand casualties were nearly a thousand, and the number of combat soldiers was reduced to three thousand. Even the elite troops were suppressed by the scale of the cloud.

Coupled with the prolonged fighting, the lack of rotation of reserve troops caused the physical strength to decline, and the hunger caused by not having lunch, even with the blessing of mental imagery, the Fuward headquarters was on the decline.

From the very beginning, Sidney told Fward that no matter what opponent he faced, no matter how many strong men he encountered, he must fight with one blow and win quickly.

Fu Ward himself was actually very clear about this, but sometimes knowing and doing are two different things. If he understood this sentence clearly, then when facing Mangzhong and realizing that he could not crush Mangzhong in one go, Fu Ward should have retreated without hesitation.

Because he could not win a quick victory, for Fu Ward, who had no troops to replenish and no reserve soldiers to fight with, he was constantly heading towards death. The longer it dragged on, the more miserable his death would be.

If 5,000 Qiang people died, it would be a painful thing at best, but if 5,000 Fuward people died, then he would also have to be counted.

And now, when Fu Ward, who was already in complete trouble, was grabbed by Sidney, he finally realized that he had less than three thousand people left, and many of them were injured to varying degrees.

Can such a force complete the subsequent plans?

Since Mangzhong appeared here with the Qiang people, is there any other Qiang people blocking the way behind him? Was the operation of going down to the Tibetan area, going to Xinzhou, and then coming up wrong from the beginning?

Countless thoughts flooded into Fuward's mind, causing him to directly enter the stage of self-examination as Masinde had originally expected.

Masinde had told Fuward before that if he could take these people back with him, no matter how many, each and every one of them would be a seed for the future, the backbone of your legion, and an absolutely trustworthy backbone, but this road is difficult to take.

To be precise, Masinde actually suggested that if Fuward was unwilling to surrender, he should fly back by himself. The Himalayas could stop the elite soldiers but not Fuward who could fly. He should fly back through the no-man's land before the Qiang people attacked and the clouds gathered.

But Fuward himself was unwilling to do so, and Masinde also did not want those soldiers who were loyal to Kushan to join the Han Dynasty, because sooner or later these people would become Zhuhelai's pawns after entering the Han Dynasty.

After all, Mashind is very clear about the bottom line of Zhu Helai. This man is a pure human beast, so you go your way and I go mine. This is also a good result for Mashind.

Having said that, Masinde, as a respectable man, still persuaded Fuward, "If you leave by yourself and let the soldiers left here surrender, it will not have any impact on your mentality. But if you want to take the soldiers back, this road is also a road of self-examination for you. It is true that if you can successfully walk back, it will be a sublimation for you, but I am not optimistic about it."

At this moment, Fuward finally understood why Masinde said that.

Compared to flying back alone or with a few people and then letting others surrender to the Han Dynasty, Fu Ward, who led the army back, had to face up to a reality, that is, the sacrifice of his soldiers in this process.

If hundreds or thousands of people died, Fu Ward might not feel anything. But if most of them died, or even if Fu Ward was the only one who escaped, then even if Fu Ward returned, he would be useless.

This level of mental shock was too intense for Fu Ward. He had agreed to take his men back with him, and his men also shouted that they would return to Kushan together for the general. However, on the way, his men who were willing to follow him with their lives fulfilled their oath with their lives.

Even if Fu Ward went back, he would probably stay in the place where his men died for the rest of his life.

"General, I will be the rear guard. We will head west directly into the northern Tibetan mountains, and then find a way to get to the Karakoram Pass and return to Kushan." Sidney persuaded again, "I suggested this northeastern route, and now it's my turn to take charge."

Fuward looked at Sidney, who smiled carefreely, "I hate the Southern Guis, and I don't want to betray the long-cherished wish of the Great Yuezhi, so I find the current Kushans disgusting. General Oswin is very upright and a hero, but General Oswin cannot understand the beliefs that my father, my grandfather, and I held when we served in the mountains day after day since we were teenagers. We are not the same kind of people!"

"Perhaps the biggest difference between me and Cabbage's group is that they can accept other means to obtain the princess, but I can only accept using force to seize the princess." Sidney said what he had always wanted to say as if he was telling his last words.

"I thought about compromising, but I can't accept it. When I think about the fact that all my efforts over the past ten or twenty years have gone to waste, and that the struggles of thousands of us have become a topic of ridicule in one day, I feel sick of the Kushan Empire now!" Sidney looked at Fu Ward's unusually free and easy attitude, and he finally said what he wanted to say.