Just as the Canberra army was in chaos, the 100,000 Great Xia imperial guards were like a sharp knife that pierced into the abdomen of the enemy. Before the dark of the night, at the most unlikely time, a huge battle suddenly broke out.
The attack of the imperial guards exacerbated the chaos in the Canberra army.
They were like a group of frightened wild deer on the grassland, desperately running forward and trampling on each other under the pursuit of a lion. As long as they could outrun their companions, they would be able to win a chance of survival.
In the process, there were also players who realized that something was wrong and stopped to prepare to fight back against the enemy.
However, they were in the minority. In front of the Great Xia imperial guards who were charging at high speed, these "warriors" were like quicksand that were quickly killed, leaving only streaks of white light.
For the Canberra army, it was impossible to organize a large-scale counterattack. The only thing they could hope for was to get away from the Great Xia imperial guards as much as possible and drag time into the night.
The hour before nightfall was particularly difficult to bear.
When the night quickly covered the sky from the distant skyline, the already exhausted Canberra army heaved a long sigh of relief as if they had seen their savior.
The nightmare was finally over for the time being.
After nightfall, the Great Xia imperial guards indeed did not pursue and instead returned to the camp to rest. On this day, they had already achieved fruitful results. First, they defeated the enemy's 100,000 vanguards and dispersed the enemy's main force.
A conservative estimate was that in just one hour, more than 50,000 people had died in battle, and there were as many as 100,000 who surrendered. Those who surrendered were all the imperial guards of the royal city. After this battle, more than half of the Canberra imperial guards had been paralyzed.
…
It was late at night.
The 250,000 Canberra soldiers finally woke up and stopped retreating. Some of them collapsed to the ground. They looked around in a daze. Everywhere they looked, they saw the same confused faces.
The night wind blew, bringing with it waves of coldness.
Most of them sat on the ground, took out their cold rations, and chewed them stiffly. There were also people who silently carried utensils and looked for water sources around to bring drinking water for their companions to soothe their smoky throats.
The entire army was lifeless.
The two inexplicable defeats had greatly weakened the strength of the army, and their morale was low. The invincible image of the Great Xia imperial guards had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Under such circumstances, even if they survived the night, what could they do?
"We can't win. I'm afraid our country is going to perish …" Someone said as tears of bitterness flowed from his eyes. No one laughed at him, because everyone's feelings were roughly the same.
Physical exhaustion was nothing compared to spiritual despair.
In the night breeze, someone sang a folk song. It was Australia's most famous folk song — "Jungle Wanderer."
There was once a tramp.
I camped by the pond.
They pitched their tent under a eucalyptus tree.
While looking at the bonfire,
While singing, "Waltzg, please wander with me."
…
The song described a wandering wanderer who made a cup of tea in the jungle. When he caught a sheep to eat, the original owner of the sheep brought three police officers to arrest him. The wanderer fled when he heard the news. In the end, he had nowhere to hide, so he jumped into the lake and ended his life.
The mood of the vagabonds seemed to be very suitable for the current situation, and more people began to hum.
A thirsty sheep,
Walking into the small pond,
The tramp seized it excitedly.
He quickly stuffed it into his pocket, feeling very pleased with himself.
"I want you to wander with me!"
…
The tramp jumped into the middle of the water with a splash.
"You'll never catch me!"
Every time we passed by the pond, we seemed to hear his free soul flying in the sky.
…
At the last line of the song, some people were already in tears. Weren't they a group of vagabonds who were chased by the enemy to the point of despair?! The final outcome might be to take the initiative to jump into the lake.
The whistling night wind took away the sobs, leaving only the coldness on the ground.
Unstoppable drowsiness struck, and the exhausted soldiers fell asleep on the ground. They clustered around each other and prepared to spend a sleepless night in the night wind.
"Let's fight to the death tomorrow, regardless of victory or defeat!" The soldiers made up their minds.
…..
The wish of the Canberra army to fight to the death was not realized in the end.
Early in the morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten. The Canberra army, who had been suffering from the cold all night, had already woken up. They stretched their limbs on the wet grass and moved their somewhat stiff bodies.
Stoves were set up, boiling hot milk and oatmeal bread. The soldiers took out all their dry rations and prepared to have a full meal before fighting to the death with the enemy.
Right at this moment, the sounds of battle suddenly rang out from all directions.
The surrounding sentry posts were being wiped out one by one at a speed visible to the naked eye. They used the last bit of their lives to send a final warning to their companions.
"Hmph, just in time!"
The soldiers thought that it was the Great Xia imperial guards from yesterday, so they did not panic at all. They were prepared to fight to the death with the enemy. Since they were here, they might as well fight!
They were wrong!
Not only were the 100,000 Great Xia imperial guards participating in the encirclement, but also the Tiger Leopard Cavalry led by Ma Chao.
It turned out that not long after the encirclement at noon yesterday, Lu Bu led the Dragonblood Cavalry to escort the prisoners of war, while Ma Chao led his troops away from the main force and rushed to Canberra.
Halfway there, he received news that the Canberra army had left the city.
Logically, what Ma Chao and his troops should have done at that time was to take down Canberra. That way, the battle in Australia would be completely over without any suspense.
However, before the attack on Australia, the military advisor Jia Xu had strictly instructed, "In this attack on Australia, the priority is to destroy the enemy, followed by attacking the city. Even if we surround the city or even lead our troops to attack the city, we cannot rashly destroy the stone tablet and occupy the city. When to occupy the city and end the war, we have to ask the Supreme Command. "
Huo Qubing knew a thing or two about the Supreme Command's plan, so he naturally conveyed the order to the five commanders of the imperial guards. Although Huo Qubing was usually smiling, Ma Chao did not dare to disobey the commander's military orders.
During the battle to exterminate the Jin army, when Lu Bu led his troops to the predetermined assembly point, they were late by an hour because the bridge was destroyed by the heavy rain.
At that time, Huo Qubing's face turned cold.
Poor Lu Bu, not only did he suffer 20 whips, but he also braved the cold wind and stood outside the commander's tent for the entire night.
After this incident, the commanders did not dare to disobey their commander's orders at all, not to mention disobeying the orders and acting on their own.
Therefore, Ma Chao had no choice but to give up the military exploits that he had already obtained. He directly bypassed Canberra and chased after the enemy's advancing route. That was why two groups of imperial guards surrounded the Canberra army in the morning.
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