Chapter 1047: The Sanmi Great General! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Kill them all!”
”For all the herdsmen!”
”The steppe will always be the steppe of the Turks. Since you want battle, we'll fulfill your wish!”
Bellows shook the heavens. The Western Turkic Khaganate and the Beiting Protectorate army had always countered each other. Although they fought every year, the wars had never been very intense.
This time, however, the Beiting Protectorate army had left its base and penetrated deep into the Turkic steppe. With just an army of one hundred thousand, they dared to sweep through the most fertile pastures and watering holes of the steppe.
Even Ishbara Khagan was infuriated by An Sishun's brashness and ambition. He had ordered the Turkic army stationed in the southern region of the Western Turkic Khaganate to go down and eliminate An Sishun.
Awooo!
One part of the Western Turkic cavalry charged straight at the Beiting Protectorate army while the other part split into two and went around the flanks, attempting to strike at the Beiting Protectorate army's rear.
This was a classic tactic of the Western Turkic Khaganate. If the Beiting Protectorate army penetrated deep into the steppe, the Western Turks would try to attack them from behind.
”Kill!”
In just a few short moments, the army of the Western Turkic Khaganate crashed against the defensive line of the Beiting Protectorate army like an enormous wave. The earth trembled and the heavens seemed to lose their color in the moment of that clash. Countless Tang infantry were sent flying at the impact.
But the warriors of the Beiting Protectorate army almost immediately reacted. The axemen, spearmen, archers, and cavalry… all of them pressed forward. The air clanged and clattered constantly with steel as the soldiers battled.
”An Sishun, you're too conceited! How do you plan to have your one hundred thousand soldiers defeat my one hundred and eighty thousand cavalry?!”
An erect figure towered in the rear of the Turkic army like a looming mountain. His eyes exploded with sharp light and his every move was suffused with an awe-inspiring strength. His enormous aura was enough to make one feel suffocated.
The Sanmi Great General!
This was one of the three strongest Great Generals of the Western Turkic Khaganate. His eyes were sharp and fierce, and his status was no less than Duwu Sili's. Duwu Sili had been sent to the northwest to fight at Talas, while the Sanmi Great General Jiudu Fuluo had been stationed in the southern part of the steppe by Ishbara Khagan to deal with the Tang army under An Sishun's command.
This was not Jiudu Fuluo's first clash with An Sishun, and the two were extremely familiar with each other's methods. Although he didn't understand why a Great General like An Sishun would suddenly leave his base and riskily venture into the steppe, he could not ignore this excellent chance to completely wipe out the Beiting Protectorate army.
Moreover, Jiudu Fuluo had sent scouts beforehand and had confirmed that An Sishun had no reinforcements.
This was nothing short of suicidal!
Bang!
In the distance, just when the Western Turkic cavalry were about to crush the Beiting Protectorate army with their sheer advantage in numbers, the air suddenly rang with booms and the grinding of gears. By the time Jiudu Fuluo had reacted, all he could hear were screams. A fuzzy black silhouette shot through the air, blasting through the chests of seven Turkic cavalry in a straight line, causing them to drop from their horses in fountains of blood.
”Great Tang ballistae!”
Jiudu Fuluo was stunned as he realized what had happened. He instantly felt a very ill foreboding.
He had carefully investigated and knew that An Sishun didn't have many ballistae in his ranks, and his soldiers would have never been able to fire them so accurately. This was not the style of the Beiting Protectorate army.
But then Jiudu Fuluo was left even further stunned.
The 'supply carriages' in the center of the Beiting Protectorate army suddenly had their cloth coverings removed, revealing not bags of grain and food, but the famed war machines of the Great Tang, the ballistae!
”Fire!”
An aloof young general in the center of these ballistae swung his Wootz Steel sword down. The five thousand Tang ballistae fired simultaneously, sending five thousand ballista bolts howling through the air. Time seemed to stop as the one hundred and eighty thousand Western Turkic cavalry felt their hearts freeze.
Boomboomboom!
In this single volley, tens of thousands of Western Turkic cavalry were felled. These ballista soldiers could fire extremely accurately, and they fired at exactly where the Turkic cavalry were most concentrated. Each bolt struck at least three Turkic cavalry, and even the most seasoned amongst them were still felled like weeds.
Neeeigh! Nearly twenty thousand Western Turkic cavalry fell from their warhorses. The battlefield became eerily quiet as the Western Turkic cavalry stared in shock, even their breathing momentarily stopping.