I'll steal Gao Qiu's life and lead the Song Dynasty to prosperity.

Chapter 79 Bloodbath at Black Stone Beach

Chapter 79 Bloodbath at Black Stone Beach

The Tibetan troops followed in a chaotic manner, picking up the scattered belongings abandoned by the Song army during their "routine retreat," their formation already in disarray.

Just as he caught up to a relatively open riverbank, less than a hundred paces from the fleeing Song cavalry, and could even see the carriage curtain frantically being lifted, a loud "thump thump thump—!!!"

"Waaaaah!!!"

The deafening sound of war drums and the mournful sound of horns suddenly erupted from the mountain ridges on both sides without warning!

The sound did not come from one place.

Instead, the sound emanated from the eastern and western slopes, instantly drowning out all the noise in the valley and startling the warhorses into rearing up.

Many Tibetan cavalrymen were caught off guard and thrown from their horses.

Then, an even more terrifying scene unfolded.

On the hillsides on the east and west sides, which originally appeared to be covered with withered grass and shrubs, multiple Song army flags were suddenly raised as if by magic!

Dense and abundant, fluttering in the wind, they have almost dyed half of the hillside red!

Beneath the banners stood numerous figures, clad in leather armor or light turbans, wielding powerful bows and crossbows, all aimed at the chaotic Tibetan army scattered across the riverbank below.

"Release the arrows!!!"

A rough, violent, and murderous roar rang out from somewhere on the western hillside, drowning out the lingering sounds of drums and horns.

It was Wang Shan!

"Boom boom boom boom!!!"

"Swish, swish, swish—!!!"

The bowstrings twanged like the rumble of thunder before a summer downpour, converging into a terrifying shriek that tore through the air. Thousands of arrows, like two torrents of steel and death, rained down from the east and west slopes at an almost vertical angle onto the crowded, chaotic, and exposed Tibetan army below.

It poured down!

"ah""

"My eyes!"

"Raise your shields! Raise your shields now!"

"Horse! The horse is startled!"

Screams, cries of alarm, the mournful neighing of horses, the muffled thuds of flesh being pierced, the clattering of arrows into the ground and carts—in an instant, everything else was replaced. The first volley of arrows transformed the riverbank into a living hell.

The Tibetan army consisted mostly of light cavalry or unarmored infantry, and they fell in droves under such dense barrage of fire.

The corpses of men and horses piled up, and blood quickly stained the black stone beach red.

Xishelusa was shielded by his personal guards with leather shields, thus avoiding being riddled with arrows by the first wave of arrows.

An arrow, its fletching still trembling, was stuck in his helmet. His face was splattered with someone's blood, and his eyes were bloodshot. His previous fervor was instantly extinguished by the ice water, replaced by boundless horror and rage.

"An ambush!!!" he roared hoarsely, his voice trembling. "Form ranks! Charge—charge up the western hillside! Take it! Otherwise, we're all dead!!"

He was, after all, a seasoned and fierce chieftain. Though startled, he remained calm and immediately determined that the eastern slope was higher and steeper, while the western slope was relatively gentle, and that the arrows seemed to be mostly coming from the western side.

We must capture a high ground to reverse this passive and defensive situation.

Under Wang Shan's command, the ambush troops of the Unity Battalion unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows.

They had the advantage of terrain and used crossbows to kill from a distance, resulting in very few casualties of their own.

Seeing the Tibetan army gathering at the foot of the western slope, attempting an uphill attack, Wang Shan immediately adjusted his deployment, ordering the archers to concentrate their fire on the climbing enemy, while simultaneously ordering the swordsmen and spearmen in the middle of the slope to prepare to engage the enemy.

Xi Sheluo Sa's eyes turned red. He personally brandished his sword and supervised the battle, gathering the elite troops of his own tribe that he could still muster, as well as several fierce tribal chiefs.

More than a thousand men abandoned their horses, which were difficult to climb, and, carrying makeshift leather shields, planks, and even the corpses of their companions, howled as they launched wave after wave of fierce charges up the hillside.

Arrows rained down relentlessly, and every moment someone screamed and tumbled to the ground, but the ferocity of the Tibetan army was also fully unleashed. They climbed frantically upwards, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

"Hold on! Hold on for me!"

Wang Shan roared at the top of his lungs from behind a protruding rock on the west slope.

He saw that the Tibetan army's offensive was exceptionally fierce, especially in the area pointed to by the tattered flag of Xisheluosana.

The Tibetan soldiers, like mad tigers, disregarded casualties and fought their way through the rain of arrows, reaching the Song army's defenses halfway up the mountain.

The Unity Battalion was, after all, a new army with insufficient field experience. Faced with such desperate close-quarters combat, it began to waver, and its defensive line was squeezed and forced to retreat.

"Bang!"

"Snap!"

Swords and spears clashed, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.

A brutal hand-to-hand combat ensued on the hillside.

The soldiers of the Unity Battalion relied on fortifications and slightly better discipline to form ranks and fight back.

However, the Tibetan soldiers were individually fierce and had a numerical advantage, often ganging up on one person, and the battle quickly became intense.

Song soldiers were constantly being cut down, and Tibetan soldiers were being pierced by spears. The bodies of both sides piled up in layers on the narrow hillside.

"Great Chief! The Song people are holding firm! Our brothers have suffered too many casualties!" A tribal chief, his face covered in blood, rushed to Xisheluosa and roared.

Xi Sheluo Sa cleaved a Unity Battalion swordsman who was trying to approach with a single blow, spat out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes flashed with ferocity.

He also realized that the Song army's ambush troops were not top-notch in combat strength, but they had inflicted heavy casualties on the Song army by taking advantage of the terrain and using crossbows.

The attack has stalled. If we cannot capture the hilltop quickly, and the Song army recovers or receives reinforcements—

He dared not think any further.

"Send a signal! Send a signal to Yeli Jie! Tell him to quickly send the Iron Falcons to our aid! Hurry!" Xi Sheluo Sa roared at his personal guards.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about saving face; preserving his life was the priority.

"Yes!" The guards quickly took out three specially made whistling arrows that had been prepared beforehand, aimed them at the sky, and lit the fuses with a tinderbox.

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

Three sharp, piercing explosions, unlike those of ordinary arrows, ripped through the noisy battlefield, clearly audible even amidst the sounds of drums and bugles.

This was the emergency distress signal that Xisheluosa and Yelijie had agreed upon.

After the signal was given, Xisheluosa felt a little more at ease and roared sharply.

"The Xia cavalry will be here in the blink of an eye! Brothers, give it your all, take the hill, slaughter all the Song traitors, and avenge our fallen brothers! Kill!"

Upon hearing that reinforcements might arrive, the Tibetan army's morale soared, and their offensive intensified.

The pressure on the Unity Battalion's defense line has increased sharply, with multiple dangerous situations arising.

At this critical moment, from the rear of the battlefield, near the bank of the Huangshui River, a wilder shout of battle, filled with a strong Tibetan accent, suddenly rang out!

About five hundred cavalrymen, dressed in various styles but clearly of Tibetan attire, led by an old man wearing a felt hat and wielding a scimitar, suddenly charged out from the flank and rear of the Tibetan army's attacking force like ghosts!

Instead of engaging the Tibetan army head-on, they acted like a cunning pack of wolves, specifically targeting the Tibetan army's weak points where their formation was disorganized and their backs were to the riverbank. They would plunge in, hack and slash, and then flee to another location.

"It's that old dog, Tashi Dorje!"

"Traitors from the White Grass Clan!"

Someone in the Tibetan army recognized the elder leader as none other than Zaxi Dorje, the chief of the Baicao tribe!

The five hundred riders behind him were all warriors selected from various surrendered tribes who had volunteered to fight and harbored old grudges against Xisheluosa.

These people were secretly dispatched by Zhao Mingcheng, with Xia Zheng acting as the liaison, to deliver a fatal blow at this critical moment.

This sudden attack from behind, by "their own people," threw the Tibetan army, already overwhelmed by the assault on the mountain, into chaos in the rear.

Many tribal soldiers were already demoralized, and when they saw that they were being attacked from the flank and rear, they thought that a large Song army reinforcement had arrived. They panicked and their offensive momentum stalled.

Xisheluosa was forced to divide his forces to deal with the situation, and his offensive weakened further.

Ten miles outside the entrance to Black Stone Beach, Ye Lijie was stationed on a high slope, gazing towards the river bend.

The deafening sounds of drums and bugles, and the shouts of battle, could be faintly heard, causing him to frown slightly.

The battle seemed quite intense, unlike that of a small ambush.

"Reporting to the General! The sounds of battle are deafening on Black Stone Beach, as if a large force is lying in ambush! The troops under Chief Xi Sheluo Sa appear to be surrounded on the beach!"

A scout arrived on horseback with the news.

Ye Lijie sneered.

"As expected, there was a trap. This Xisheluosa, greedy for merit and rash, brought disaster upon himself."

He didn't care about the fate of the Tibetan army; in fact, he was happy to see them weaken the Song army.

However, if the Tibetan army collapses so quickly, it will be a blow to morale and they will not be able to complete the "assistance" mission assigned by Renduo Baozhong.

Just as he was weighing whether to move closer to observe the battle and then make a decision.

"Whoosh!!!" ————

Three distinct explosions could be faintly heard, followed by three plumes of black smoke rising into the sky above the river bend.

SOS signal!

Ye Lijie's face darkened.

Xisheluosa couldn't hold out so quickly? It seems the Song army's ambush force is quite strong.

He was calculating very quickly.

At this moment, the main force of the Song army's ambush troops is engaged in battle with the Tibetan army, and their attention has been drawn away. This may be the perfect opportunity to defeat the enemy.

If we lead the Iron Falcons to break in at this moment and coordinate with the Tibetan army from within, there is a great chance we can defeat this Song army ambush force.

If successful, he would not only save Xishe Luosa and gain favor, but also severely damage a major force of the Song army, clearing the way for the subsequent attack on Qinghai. If he stood idly by and watched the Tibetan army be annihilated, he would be unable to hold out alone, and he would have a difficult time explaining himself upon returning.

"Pass on the order!" Ye Lijie no longer hesitated, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Iron Falcons will lead the vanguard, followed by Foot Warriors, and the entire army will rush to the aid of Black Stone Beach! Upon entering the beach, Iron Falcons will charge straight at the main Song army ambush, while Foot Warriors will wipe out the remaining enemy forces and provide support to the Tibetan army!"

"yes!"

Bugles sounded loudly in the Xia army's ranks. Eight hundred iron-clad heavy cavalry, led by their respective captains of ten and a hundred, began to slowly accelerate, the heavy clatter of hooves gradually becoming a rumbling thunder.

A thousand-step pacer followed closely behind, running like the wind. The black torrent surged toward the entrance to the Black Stone Beach, several miles away.

The entrance to the river bend is narrow, allowing only a few riders to ride side by side.

Iron Hawks, like arrows, surged in without any hesitation, with Yeli Jie taking the lead and rushing into the shoal.

The scene before him sent a chill down his spine: the beach was littered with the corpses of Tibetan and Song soldiers, along with scattered weapons and flags, indicating the battle was exceptionally fierce.

On both sides of the hillside, Song army flags fluttered, and arrows continued to rain down. The Tibetan army was pinned down on the beach and the western slope, struggling to hold on.

"Target: Song army's central camp on the western hillside! Charge!" Ye Lijie pointed his long sword and shouted sharply.

The Iron Hawk accelerated again, its heavy iron hooves pounding the sandy ground, sending stones flying like steel walls, and with an aura of crushing everything, it headed straight for the Song army's position on the west slope.

Ye Lijie believed that the impact of the Iron Falcons was enough to break through any array of infantry. As long as an opening was created and the infantry followed up, the battle would be won.

However, just as nearly half of the kites surged into the river bend, with the rear still at the entrance, the foot soldiers were also gradually entering this narrow area, inevitably lengthening the formation and making it slightly chaotic—

"boom!!!"

The thunderous sound of hooves, more muffled, more orderly, and more full of killing intent than the Xia army's charge, suddenly exploded like a thunderclap from behind a high ground that they had not noticed at all when they came in, just behind the side of the river bend entrance!

Yeli Jie turned around in horror.

A cavalry force of about two thousand men, all clad in fine armor and armed with sharp weapons, marched at an alarming speed, their formation as disciplined as a mountain.

It swept down from the high ground!

The leading general, riding a white horse and wielding a silver spear, wearing a scarlet cloak, was none other than Zhong Pu!

His face was cold and stern, his eyes filled with only a sharp killing intent. He pointed his spear forward and roared throughout the battlefield.

"Young men of Xihe, follow me to slay the traitors! Look closely at the rear guard of that Xia dog! Slay the generals and seize the flag today! Kill—!!!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Two thousand elite troops from Xihe Qinfeng, who had been conserving their energy and gathering their strength, roared in unison, their voices soaring into the sky.

Using Zhongpu as their spearhead, they mercilessly pierced the most vulnerable and chaotic part of the Xia army.

It was precisely the junction between the infantry and some of the ironclad rear guard units that had not yet fully entered the bay!

"Song army! There's a Song army ambush behind us!!!"

"It's the flag of the Jade Dynasty! It's Jade!!"

Xia Jun's rear guard was thrown into chaos instantly.

The infantrymen frantically tried to turn around and form ranks, but the narrow terrain and the sudden attack forced them to huddle together.

The Iron Falcon rear guard, which had not yet entered the bay, wanted to return to provide reinforcements, but was blocked by its own infantry and the terrain.

Zhong Pu took the lead, his silver spear like a dragon, instantly knocking down two Xia army captains who tried to stop him.

Behind him, elite cavalrymen swept through like tigers among sheep, hacking and stabbing with swords and spears, their iron hooves trampling them.

They specifically targeted the weak points of the foot soldiers and the flanks and rear where the iron hawks were difficult to turn.

Hundreds of heavily armored infantrymen dismounted and, armed with crossbows, unleashed a barrage of fire at close range at the joints between the iron-clad men and horses and the gaps in their faceplates!

Another squad of fierce soldiers, armed with long-handled axes and hook-and-sickle spears, specialized in cutting the legs of the Iron Falcon warhorses!

The Iron Falcon Heavy Cavalry's strength lies in its group charge. However, once caught in melee combat, it loses speed and is vulnerable to close-range armor penetration, greatly reducing its effectiveness.

In an instant, men and horses were thrown into chaos, and the heavy armor became a burden.

Screams, the neighing of horses, the cracking of armor, and the sound of weapons piercing flesh were all mixed together.

Yeli Jie heard the deafening screams from behind when he was at the front. He turned around and saw that the rear army was in chaos. A large banner with the character "Zhong" was galloping through the Xia army ranks, invincible. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body!

"Quick! Front ranks become rear ranks, return to support! Form a circular formation!!" He roared hoarsely, but the order was difficult to convey in the chaos.

Iron Falcon, who was charging ahead, tried to turn around, but collided with the panicked foot soldiers rushing in from behind, causing chaos.

Black Stone Beach, this carefully chosen trap, has finally revealed its most ferocious fangs.

>