latelenovela Chapter 461 Li Dingguo's Counterattack
Chapter 461 Li Dingguo's Counterattack
The common tactic of the refugee army was to feign defeat to lure the enemy and then ambush them. They had plenty of "cannon fodder" to spare, so they didn't care if they died; they could just take another batch after one died. It was precisely because their feigned defeats, which disregarded casualties, were so realistic that the government troops were repeatedly fooled and suffered a crushing defeat after falling into the ambush.
However, Li Dingguo's current counterattack is far from a carefully planned ambush; it's more of a desperate struggle. In this disastrous situation, being relentlessly pursued means either death in battle or exhaustion, so turning back to fight is the better option. Zhang Xianzhong believes the government troops will inevitably scatter in the chase, and if he's lucky enough to capture one group, it might deter the others from pursuing him.
But when Li Dingguo finally managed to gather more than a thousand men and go against the flow of people, passing through the dense crowd to meet the government soldiers who were closely following behind, his heart sank.
Unlike the chaotic refugee army, this group of officers and soldiers maintained a relatively orderly formation during the long march. Each battalion commander (Li Dingguo was unaware of the organization of the Qionghai Army regiment, battalion, company, platoon, and squad) was clearly distinguished and kept in a jogging posture with their guns in hand, ready to join the battle at any time.
Li Dingguo gasped. Were these still the imperial soldiers? In his memory, even the elite border troops in Gansu and other places did not have such discipline and quality. It was good enough if they could obey orders on the battlefield—provided that their food and pay were not delayed—don't expect them to maintain their formation in such a long and intense pursuit.
Seeing the enemy's formation, he knew this counterattack was pointless. But his godfather had given the order, so he had no choice but to fight. Li Dingguo gritted his teeth, raised his knife, and shouted, "Brothers, whether we stick our necks out or not, we'll all get stabbed. Rather than being driven to our deaths like pigs and cattle, we might as well fight! Everyone, follow me!"
Seeing that it was too late to turn around and run, the refugees closed their eyes and charged forward, howling. The two sides were less than a mile apart, and if they went towards each other, they would soon collide.
Qin Tian led the special forces team and was about to catch up when Xu Yifan stopped him.
"Captain Qin, your men have already achieved many victories. Now, why not let us new recruits gain more experience?" This is the first battle after the expansion of the Qionghai Army. It is both a test and a rare opportunity for training. If we can successfully defend against the siege of tens of thousands of bandits and defeat their counterattack during the pursuit, it will greatly boost the confidence of these new recruits. After this battle, the new recruits will grow into elite warriors.
Qin Tian readily agreed and slowed his pace. The general had once said that he wanted to use the bandits to train his troops, and he probably meant the same thing if he were here, so there was no need to be greedy for this small merit.
Xu Yifan rode to the front and gave a brief pre-battle pep talk to the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion: "Soldiers of the First Battalion, you were almost breached by these bandits just now, and many of your comrades were killed or wounded. Now the opportunity for revenge has come. The enemy is right in front of you. Do you have the confidence to prove that you are not cowards and cut off their heads to pay tribute to your fallen comrades?"
Lan Lin and Zhu Jinhu stood together and, together with the soldiers of the First Battalion, shouted, "Yes!"
"Very good. I order the First Battalion to lead the charge, the Second Battalion to follow, and the remaining battalions to flank from both sides and continue the pursuit!"
The First Battalion, with nearly half its men killed or wounded, charged forward with a roar, with the wounded Zhu Jinhu and Lan Lin leading the charge.
Qin Tian approached Xu Yifan and whispered, "Commander Xu, this battalion suffered heavy casualties just now, why were they still sent to lead the charge?" In his opinion, the relatively intact Second Battalion should have been used to lead the charge.
Xu Yifan shook his head: "Good soldiers are forged in battle. Although the First Battalion suffered nearly half its casualties, they encountered the elite troops of the bandits earlier and fought a frustrating battle. They must have been extremely frustrated and had a lot of anger that they couldn't vent. If they win under such circumstances, it will be more useful than winning ten more battles later. In the future, these soldiers will become the elite of the elite. Besides, these bandits have lost all their morale and are not the elite troops they were before. We still have the Second Battalion protecting us from behind, so there won't be any mishaps."
Qin Tian thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That makes sense. You really know how to lead troops."
The first and second battalions engaged the enemy, while the rest bypassed the battlefield and continued their pursuit.
As the saying goes, a desperate army is bound to win. The First Battalion had suffered heavy losses, but just as Xu Yifan had predicted, the old battalion, which had fought alone against the refugee army, was feeling frustrated and had nowhere to vent their pent-up anger. Now that the regimental commander had given them a chance to prove themselves, they were exceptionally excited, charging into the enemy lines like madmen on steroids. In contrast, the refugees' morale had plummeted during their escape. In terms of fighting spirit, the two sides were not on the same level. As soon as they made contact, the refugees were routed by the enemy's bayonet charge.
Li Dingguo was incredibly brave, wielding a steel saber with such ferocity that it was impenetrable. Several soldiers missed their targets and were instead cut down by him. However, his individual prowess could not change the overall situation. His subordinates were stabbed to death one after another, and more and more red figures surrounded him, gradually forming a siege.
Lan Lin was also among the attackers. Seeing that a bandit younger than himself was highly skilled in martial arts and could hold off several soldiers' attacks without being defeated, he became competitive, roared, and thrust his spear forward with all his might.
Li Dingguo managed to deflect the bayonets of the two soldiers, but Lan Lin's thrust came suddenly and with great force. He had no time to parry and could only slightly turn his body to avoid vital areas in his chest and abdomen. The bayonet struck his right arm.
With a clang, the steel knife fell to the ground. Li Dingguo's right arm was severely injured, rendering him unable to attack or resist, and he could only retreat hastily. Lan Lin, emboldened by his successful strike, raised his gun and gave chase.
Several refugees rushed over, shouting, "General Li, you'd better leave quickly! We'll hold them off for you!"
Under the cover of these men, Li Dingguo retreated out of Lan Lin's attack range. After Lan Lin and his comrades killed these men, they could no longer catch up with Li Dingguo and could only watch helplessly as he ran away.
Li Dingguo clutched his right arm and glanced back at Lan Lin, seemingly trying to memorize the face of the soldier who had seriously wounded him. Lan Lin patted his chest and shouted, "Grandpa's name is Lan Lin! If we meet again, I won't let you off!"
With Li Dingguo's serious injuries and retreat, this hastily assembled force was utterly routed by the First Battalion, almost completely wiped out, with only a few survivors fleeing with Li Dingguo.
In the distance, Zhang Xianzhong stamped his foot in frustration. After meeting up with Li Dingguo, who had caught up, he turned and disappeared into the fleeing crowd. After this test, the fleeing army of refugees completely abandoned any thought of counterattack and focused solely on escaping.