Chapter 511: Fleeing

Dugu Xian could not remember from which senior general he had heard of the theory that the real battle began when an army was routing; he had always used it as a guiding principle.

As such, when he brought an army out to battle, he always retained a reserve unit if possible. In this way, he could ensure that his army could retreat in an orderly fashion if needed and that it would not be routed.

When he was young, he encountered a scene whereby a routine retreat started to flee mindlessly for some unfathomable reason, as if they were being chased by devils.

The generals would usually blame their soldiers, while the ministers behind the scenes would accuse the commander of being incompetent. All of them would debate endlessly in front of their king.

Dugu Xian knew what had happened. At that time, he was just a low-ranking military officer who was fighting along with the common soldiers in a bloody battle with the enemy.

Battlefields are always chaotic, and none of the combatants could control the entire situation. Their own fates, as well as that of the comrades around them, were usually used to judge the performance of the entire army: if the soldiers around them charged forward valiantly, it meant that victory was at hand; but if they were constantly being cut down, it meant that the army was faring very badly.

The personal impressions of the soldiers and officers who had just retreated back from the frontline usually caused them to fail to understand why their commander wanted to regroup. It took just a little provocation, for example, for someone to trip or if the orderly to run a little faster, to spark off an unexpected rout.

Dugu Xian preferred to retain a reserve unit. The soldiers in this unit would stand behind the battlefield and could observe the entire proceeding like the commander. During a retreat, they would not be distraught and panic, thereby giving a huge consolation to the soldiers who had actually taken part in the battle.

The theory also meant that if it was the enemy that was routing, one should expend every effort to give chase. Everyone usually overlooked the fact that the number of casualties on a battlefield was usually smaller than imagined; no combatant would willingly give up his or her life when the enemy was trying to slay him or her.

When chasing down a routing enemy, this concept was not applicable. The chasing party could put in all its effort in attacking and cut down their enemies from behind. It was the part of a battle whereby one party could kill the most enemies.

This optimal opportunity would only be open for a short while. After it had past, the enemy would either be too far to chase down or have regrouped to fight to their deaths.

The party that was originally winning could be defeated by the fleeing enemy who had regrouped; it was not unprecedented.

When the Golden Roc Army began to rout, Dugu Xian’s first action was to hold his entire army back to prevent them to give chase mindlessly. He then dispatched individual units to start giving chase.

He ordered the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain to form three lead units, each a thousand strong, and they were to advance swiftly on horseback. They were not allowed to stop and attack even if they passed their enemies by; their role was to quickly reach the pre-determined second defense line and to turn back only after they did so, thereby cutting off the routers.

The other units, each a thousand strong as well, were divided into two waves, and they set off at different timings, one after the other to give chase at a steady pace. These units formed a huge encirclement around their enemies and were to slay as many foes as they could.

Dugu Xian could not control the fact that there would definitely be a group of enemy soldiers that managed to escape from the encirclement before it was fully formed. Even though they were routing, the enemy troops still had a numerical advantage, and by letting this group off, it would instead aid his soldiers in wiping out the remaining foes.

Dugu Xian viewed of himself as a professional general, but he could not help but feel a little excited at this moment. He had finally realized his dream of leading a proper army and had even defeated a tough opponent. Perhaps, he was not a smart general or even a great one, but he made fewer mistakes than anybody else.

The accidental chaos caused by the female archers from the Land of Fragrance within the Golden Roc Army were the deciding factors in the Dragon army’s victory. Of course, Dugu Xian understood the importance of both events, but they were considered as a surprise. The Dragon army was still the main driver, and only it could chase after the fleeing enemy. It was now up to them to perform at the most crucial part of the battle.

All of the Dragon King’s efforts would have been for nothing had it not been for the Dragon army, or had it not performed up to expectations. The routing Golden Roc Army would have regrouped sooner or later once its soldiers calmed down and realized that they still had the upper hand. If they started another huge battle, it would be entirely impossible for the Dragon King to win by surprise again.

Unexpectedly, the most fearsome soldiers during the chase were not the female archers from the Land of Fragrance (they obeyed the Dragon King’s orders to remain on high ground) or the soldiers from the Dragon army. They were also not the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, but the tribal soldiers formed by Tuo Nengya in the Wushan mountain range.

The unit of 3000 soldiers had joined the Dragon King’s army because of Ha Chilie, the son of the tribal chief of the Eastern Mountains. They had not expected that he had defected long ago to the Golden Roc Fort and were nearly suffocated to death in the abandoned mine; they decided to faithfully serve the Dragon King when they were rescued.

Loyalty had to be proved by actions, not words.

As the female archers could not leave their post, the high-ranking military officers of the Dragon army unleashed the tribal warriors.

They were eager to demonstrate their loyalty, especially after they realized that the enemy was defeated.

They did not have any horses, so they gave chase on foot. They leaped up onto any horse that they could snatch and continued giving chase even if separated from the others, completely fearless.

Some of the warriors were a little too excited and rode forth into the ranks of their enemies alone, brandishing their long-sabers as they slashed away. Their self-confidence made them seem as though there was a huge army behind them, and it frightened the fleeing Golden Roc soldiers greatly, so much so that they immediately surrendered, daring not to resist, even though there were only dozens of tribal soldiers around them.

The chase finally winded down as it reached evening time. Dugu Xian paid a personal visit to the tribal soldiers and praised them before rewarding them generously. He then immediately broke them up and absorbed them into the other units; they were too impetuous and were already a bad influence. Given that, he had to keep them under tight control.

The chase was a wild affair and there was no room for an individual to unleash his full range of abilities. There was no need for Gu Shenwei to take pride in butchering and subduing the enemy soldiers as tribal soldiers did. There were more important matters for him to handle.

The Dragon army’s victory was the beginning of another battle for him. He had to make sure that Dragon army still belonged to him and that the four nations on the north coast of the Xiaoyao Lake would not be stolen by some ambitious person.

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He hid at the foot of the slope and commanded the main body of his army to pass him by before circling to the back as quickly as he could, seeking out his guard troops. This army of thousands usually did not take direct orders from the Left General and still remained at their original positions, awaiting the Dragon King’s orders.

Old Man Mu followed closely behind him. The corpses strewn around the battlefield were a huge temptation for him, causing him to keep groaning in agony.

“Remember your oath and shut up,” Gu Shenwei told him. He did not appreciate the old man’s constant groaning.

“I can remember my oath, but shutting up will be a little hard,” replied Old Man Mu. He was standing on top of a horse, but it did not affect his ability to lead it. From a distance, he even seemed like a rider on horseback. “Dragon King, do you know how a deity feels like after he or she has been banished to earth and lost all of his or her sorcery? I feel like that now, I…”

Gu Shenwei acted swiftly and demonstrated great hand-eye coordination as he stuffed his horsewhip into the old man’s mouth. He needed to focus on catching up with his guard troops, instead of listening to an old man explain his feelings.

Old Man Mu remained silent for a while before spitting the horsewhip back out, muttering, “What sort of taste is that? Now I’ve lost even the desire to kill…”

The guard troops were indeed still at their original spot. Even the Queen had made a symbolic appearance on the battlefield, but they were still waiting in the camp. Dugu Xian had drawn a line at using this unit only in critical life and death situations.

Their vice commander, Wu Zongheng, had still not returned, and Gu Shenwei had appointed a centurion to temporarily take over command. He ordered the centurion to set off immediately. “Take boats and cross the lake. Seize the capital of the Kang Kingdom as fast as you can and shut its gates. Do not hand the city over to anybody unless you get orders from me.”

All of the guard troops were incredibly overjoyed to see the Dragon King, believing that they could take part in the chase and contribute to the battle finally. They did not expect to receive orders to seize a nearly defenseless capital.

Gu Shenwei could not explicitly tell them his plans and could only try to encourage them. “The entire Dragon army will return to the north coast very shortly. You are our vanguard unit and bear a heavy responsibility. Please remain frosty and take care.”

“Shall we seize the other three capitals?” asked the high-ranking military officers of the guard troops, as they began to get excited. There were not many soldiers from the Golden Roc Army on the north coast and they consisted mainly of scattered and small units. As such, they would definitely not be able to withstand the 1000 strong guard troops.

“Secure the Kang Kingdom and don’t let anyone in. You are not to leave the city as well.”

After he had given them his strict order, Gu Shenwei led a little over 100 of the guard troops to catch up with the main body of the Dragon army.

Most of the battle-ready ships in the Xiaoyao Lake were in the hands of the Right General, Shang Liao. There were still many civilian bots docked at the harbor on the south coast, and the guard troops immediately sail to the north coast, unimpeded throughout their entire journey.

Gu Shenwei arrived at the temporary encampment set up by the Dragon King after midnight. The fatigued soldiers were already mostly asleep.

Nobody dared to stop the guard troops as they marched into the camp, holding the Dragon King’s banner up high. They immediately passed on the Dragon King’s instructions to the other soldiers, “The soldiers and officers have suffered today, and no one is to wake anybody up.”

Gu Shenwei entered the main tent alone and lit the candles up. He secretly admired Dugu Xian’s discipline; even at such a chaotic time, the tent was organized neatly, as if the army had already set up here for many days.

The first thing he did was to look through the reports of the past few days. All of Dugu Xian’s orders were recorded in them, and through the dry documents, he quickly understood what had happened for the past few days when he was away.

Gu Shenwei frowned as he read about the Queen’s making a personal appearance in the military camp.

A guard standing watch outside lifted the flap to his tent and walked in. “Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is asking to see you.”

It was uncertain as to whether Zhong Heng was the first to notice the Dragon King’s arrival because he could not fall asleep or whether there was somebody who had disobeyed orders and reported it to the Prime Minister.

Zhong Heng had originally wanted to kneel and offer his congratulations upon seeing the Dragon King, but immediately changed his mind after really meeting him. He occasionally forgot that he was dealing with the Dragon King not the officials from the Central Plain that he used to work for.

“There are still 20000 enemy soldiers that have fled west. The Left General felt that it was not suitable to press them too tightly, and the Right General is nowhere to be found. It would be a great help to us if we had his boats and Fierce Bombs.”

Zhong Heng went straight to the point and explained the situation with a few words. Gu Shenwei nodded. Since the Prime Minister was already here, he got his guards to wake Dugu Xian up.

The Right General arrived very quickly and was slightly surprised to see the Prime Minister. He then immediately kneeled down on one knee as he addressed the Dragon King. “I didn’t know that you’ve arrived, Your Grace, and thus missed welcoming you. Please forgive me.”

Dugu Xian had never behaved so respectfully toward the Dragon King. He had just won an important victory but was behaving as humbly as a defeated general. Zhong Heng secretly approved; he thought that the Left General was not entirely unaware of the rules of court.

“How do you plan to deal with the remaining 20000 Golden Roc soldiers, General Dugu?” Gu Shenwei asked the most pressing question in his mind, as he readily accepted the show of respect.

Dugu Xian rose as he replied, “Our army should slowly advance and force them to flee the north coast. We’ll then send out another army from the capital of the An Kingdom to travel northward, creating a stranglehold on the exit on the northeast portion of the Xiaoyao Lake. As such, the enemy can only return to Jade City through the passage on the northwest. The desert will take care of the remaining 20000 enemy soldiers as they did not bring enough food and water with them.”

It was about the same as Gu Shenwei’s plan, but he pointed at the map in front of him, saying, “What about this bridge? After the Golden Roc Army returns back to the north coast, they will definitely destroy it. Our troops will then be unable to pursue them.”

“It’s indeed a valid problem,” replied Dugu Xian. He was a little nervous as he had not thought of a solution.

What he did not know was that many people tried to destroy that bridge.