Chapter 205: Chapter 144: Reunion with Qj Yun
Translator: 549690339
All the cavalry in the barracks were gathered and led by Zhou Qing to pursue the enemy.
Then, some of the active-duty troops were also called up, forming a force of more than two thousand, following the cavalry.
The soldiers who were resting and sleeping were also awakened, assembling six battalions with three thousand men, as the third wave of pursuit. The remaining ten thousand troops stayed in the camp and waited for dawn.
After everything was in place,
A massive pursuit began.
The Seven Star Sect rebels had only escaped more than ten miles when they were caught up by the cavalry.
During the chaos, the fleeing rebels were unable to withstand the charge of the cavalry, scattering quickly after a brief clash.
A large number of rebels surrendered on the spot, while others fled into the wilderness and deeper into the mountains, where they could not be pursued in the darkness.
The cavalry did not bother with those who surrendered.
After dispersing several waves of the enemy army, they continued to pursue those further ahead.
Those who surrendered were left for the infantry to deal with slowly.
The cavalry galloped forward, relentlessly pursuing those fleeing bandits and crushing those at the very front.
As the pursuit continued in urgency, they encountered the core group of the
Seven Star Sect, who stopped fleeing and engaged the cavalry in battle instead.
These martial arts experts, with their strong skills, killed more than a hundred cavalry and caught the pursuing soldiers by surprise.
After suffering heavy losses, Zhou Qing hesitated in his pursuit and slowly adjusted his strategy, staying behind and targeting softer targets, not daring to charge the group of martial arts experts again.
As a result, those retreating enemy soldiers without the support of the Seven Star Sect experts faced a dire situation.
Targeted by the cavalry and under the pressure of thousands of troops, combined with the panic of escaping, they could not hold on for long before being crushed, crying and begging for mercy.
With their retreat covered by their fellows, the core group of the Seven Star Sect quickly fled to the south.
Gradually, they shook off their pursuers.
The massive pursuit lasted for three days.
Lu Yuan’s chasing forces went all the way from Changning County to Pingyang County in Luyang Fu, covering more than three hundred miles.
On the way, two small county towns of Luyang Fu learned of the defeat at the frontlines and the approach of the enemy army, mobilizing the local gentry and factions to kill the remaining bandit officers and welcome the king’s forces.
With the addition of Pingyang County, three of the ten counties of Luyang Fu were liberated in a single day.
However, at this point, the pursuing troops were exhausted and could go no further.
Half of the cavalry’s horses had died from exhaustion, and many of the infantrymen had fallen behind, with less than a thousand remaining at the front by the time they reached Pingyang County.
Now deep within Luyang Fu, the old nest of the Seven Star Sect, they still faced significant local resistance despite the heavy losses inflicted on the rebels.
For safety, Zhou Qing chose to stay in Pingyang County, both to integrate the surrendered enemy soldiers from the county town and to wait for the reinforcements to arrive.
As Zhou Qing’s progress was swift, Lu Yuan’s main force of over 10,000 soldiers was also slowly advancing towards Luyang Fu.
However, compared to the vanguard pursuit, the speed of the main force was much slower.
Maintaining the same pace as before, they only advanced 30 to 50 miles per day, focusing on steadiness.
Reports of the pursuit’s results were already coming in.
In one night and one day, more than 6,000 Seven Star Sect bandits were captured.
These prisoners, together with the more than 2,000 rebels captured earlier in the month, were once again incorporated into the First Camp by Lu Yuan.
Next was the attack on Luyang Fu.
That was the old nest of the Seven Star Sect, with all sorts of local forces intertwined with the rebels.
Even as the Seven Star Sect suffered heavy defeats and lost 20,000 troops, taking Luyang Fu would not be easy.
According to current intelligence, there were still about 10,000 Seven Star Sect soldiers garrisoned in Luyang Fu.
Of these, 5,000 main forces were concentrated in Luyang Fu City.
With these troops, the collapse of the Seven Star Sect was not imminent.
There would eventually be a final battle to attack the city.
By that time, the 8,000 prisoners would be useful as cannon fodder.
In addition to the prisoners, more than 1,000 rebels had fled into the wilderness the night before and would need to be hunted down slowly.
To handle this, Lu Yuan issued a public letter requesting Hengyang Fu to send an additional 1,000 soldiers to specifically deal with these remnant rebels.
As a result of the attempt to repress them overnight, only about 2,000 rebels were able to return.
From an initial force of more than 20,000 when they headed north, only 2,000 remained upon returning.
The Seven Star Sect’s attack on Hengyang Fu could be described as a disastrous defeat.
Whether they could survive the aftermath and for how long was now in question.
On the wide official road, the army stretched for miles and wound its way southward.
“After this great victory, my reputation in Dongting Prefecture should be even more prominent, ”
Sitting in the spacious and comfortable carriage, Lu Yuan glanced at the war report and smiled wryly, “However, with this, the chances of me being targeted by the Five Poisons Sect have increased.”
Without breaking through the innate barrier, the Five Poisons Sect would always be a lingering threat.
Like at this moment.
Despite being on the march, Lu Yuan had arranged three identical carriages to confuse potential attackers..