Chương 720: Encounter Battle

Meanwhile, King Vasudeva I of the Kushan Empire was enjoying himself in the Purusha Palace, with a beautiful foreign woman in his left arm, jewels in his right hand, and listening to a high monk preach Buddhist scriptures. He was living a life of bliss.

The ministers below also only reported good news and not bad news, saying every day that "the country is prosperous and the people are at peace" and "all nations come to pay tribute", which made Vasudeva feel flattered and that he really thought he was a great emperor for all time.

That day, a messenger arrived with an urgent report from the border. The messenger ran like a dog, bursting into the palace shouting:

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Hundreds of thousands of Han troops have marched in from the Pamir Mountains in the east. The mountains and plains are covered with soldiers, and they are carrying countless iron pipes that can breathe fire. The vanguard is almost at Kabul!"

Vasudeva I burst out laughing upon hearing this, dropping the grapes from his hand, and waved his hand at his ministers below:

"What nonsense! The Han army hasn't had any large-scale operations in the Western Regions for over a decade. Why would they suddenly head this way? The border lads must have mistaken a caravan for an army."

Besides, they won once more than a decade ago, but that was by surprise attack! In a real battle, how could they possibly be a match for our Kushan cavalry?

Then, Vasudeva I confirmed with the intelligence officer again:

"Are you sure you saw it clearly? It's the Han army? Hundreds of thousands of them?"

The intelligence officer knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head, nodding repeatedly:

"Your Majesty, it's absolutely true! A dark, endless mass of soldiers! And lots of black iron pipes—I don't know what they are, but they look terrifying!"

Vasudeva I's smile vanished, replaced by annoyance. He slammed his hand on the table:

"Damn it, do you really think we Kushans are easy to bully? Fine, fine, then let's settle all our old and new scores together!"

It's time to settle the score from over a decade ago when the Han army launched a surprise attack and annihilated our 50, 000-strong army!

Damn it, if the Han army hadn't tricked us back then, how could our 50, 000 troops have been wiped out?

This time they've delivered themselves right to our doorstep, so let's wipe them out in one fell swoop, march east of the Pamir Mountains, and steal their silk and tea!

The ministers below quickly echoed this, each one exaggerating to an extreme degree:

"Your Majesty is right! Our Kushan cavalry is invincible, and with the aid of war elephants, let alone hundreds of thousands, even if a million-strong army came, we would ensure they never returned!"

"Exactly! The Han army only knows how to launch surprise attacks; they're no match for us in a head-on fight!"

The general beside him pounded his chest so loudly it was like beating a drum:

"Rest assured, Your Majesty! This humble general will lead 50, 000 cavalry, 30, 000 infantry, and elephant cavalry to cut off the heads of these eastern barbarians and avenge our fallen brothers!"

Vasudeva I waved his hand confidently:

"Alright, let the Crown Prince lead the team with you! Teach them a lesson and let these Easterners know the power of the Kushans! The looted silk, gold, and silver will be distributed according to merit!"

And so, the Kushan crown prince and the general led 80, 000 troops northward to meet them. Along the way, they were thinking about how many prisoners to capture as slaves and how much silk and porcelain to plunder. They even had the menu for the victory banquet planned.

The crown prince, riding a tall horse, boasted to his generals:

"Once we win, each person will be rewarded with ten Han women and ten bolts of silk!"

His men were roaring with excitement, as if victory was already in their grasp.

As a result, they ran right into Xue Rengui's left vanguard troops in the Kabul River Valley.

Upon receiving the scout's report that there were 80, 000 men and elephants on the other side, Xue Rengui was delighted and said to his personal guards:

"Perfect timing, let's test the new cannons. His Majesty just gave us these field cannons, we haven't even used them yet, let's practice with the Kushan soldiers today."

He immediately ordered: the flintlock musketeers to form five ranks in a horizontal line, and over a thousand field guns to be pushed to the front of the formation. The cavalry were to be positioned on both flanks and await orders. They were not to attack until the enemy got close, in order to conserve ammunition.

The soldiers were all smiling, like they were watching a play, not nervous at all... They trained and practiced target shooting every day, and they were itching to try it out on real people.

Before long, dust billowed in the distance, like a sandstorm.

The Kushan cavalry charged in like a tidal wave, with the first five hundred war elephants, as large as small mountains, striding forward with a thud that shook the ground.

The soldiers on the elephant's back roared and brandished their spears, looking quite intimidating, like a mobile fortress.

The Kushan crown prince, mounted on his horse, glanced at the sparsely populated Han army, with hardly any barricades, and felt even more disdain. He brandished his sword and shouted:

"Charge! Crush them into mincemeat! Take everything they have!"

The war elephants charged forward with great strides, followed by the cavalry. For five li, then four li, the Han army remained motionless, as if they were frozen in fear.

The Kushan soldiers became even more triumphant, roaring as they charged forward, their speed increasing rapidly.

Even from two miles away, the Kushan soldiers could clearly see the faces of the Han soldiers. They were feeling smug, thinking they could charge in and start killing people any second...

Then came a deafening roar, like thunder, that shook the heavens and earth.

The Han army's field artillery opened fire first.

The exploding shells rained down on the Kushan army like hail, exploding with a "bang, bang, bang," blowing men and horses to pieces with each shot, and sending blood mist and dust flying everywhere.

The first few dozen war elephants were blown to pieces on the spot, collapsing to the ground with cries of agony. The elephant soldiers fell off and were trampled into mincemeat by the elephants behind them.

The remaining elephants, hearing the loud noise and smelling the gunpowder, immediately bristled.

Elephants may look fierce, but they are actually quite timid. Once startled, they become unrecognizable and will run away regardless of who you are.

More than 400 elephants turned around and ran back, swinging their trunks like windmills, their big feet stomping "thump thump," each step crushing several of their own kind.

The Kushan cavalry formation was immediately routed, with men and horses falling over, crying out in despair, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!" The Kushan prince turned pale, and almost dropped his sword. He had never seen anything like this before.

Before he could react, the flintlock pistol fired.

Under Cao Cao's command, the five ranks of soldiers took turns firing. The bullets flew like raindrops, piercing through the armor of the Kushan cavalrymen, who fell one after another like wheat being harvested.

The Kushan archers wanted to fire arrows and show off their ancestral archery skills, but their bows only had a range of about a hundred paces, while the Han army's flintlock muskets could hit people from two hundred paces away. Before the arrows even reached them, they were all shot down, unable to even touch the enemy's hair.

Seeing that the time was right, Xue Rengui drew his halberd and shouted:

"Cavalry charge!"

The Han cavalry on both flanks thrust forward like two sharp knives, their hooves thundering like a black tide.

Xue Rengui charged forward like a streak of white light, his white robe and silver halberd flashing as he swung his halberd, knocking the Kushan prince off his horse and killing him instantly.

Lu Bu, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yuchi Gong also displayed their divine power, slaughtering many.

With a sweep of his halberd, Lü Bu unleashed a shower of blood; one strike could pierce two enemies, like a string of candied hawthorns...

Yuwen Chengdu's gilded halberd swept across the land, killing anyone who blocked it or touched it, as if he were cutting melons and vegetables...

Yuchi Gong wielded his double maces with incredible speed and skill, smashing the enemy's brains until they splattered, displaying unparalleled bravery.

The Han cavalry charged in like tigers among sheep; the Kushan soldiers couldn't stop them at all. They either surrendered or were killed; there was no third option.

In just two hours, the entire 80, 000-strong Kushan army was wiped out. Some died, some surrendered, and only a few thousand managed to escape. It was essentially a total annihilation.