Su Dingfang mentally shook his head as he watched Hou Junji fall into deep thought. But he could not just sit by and watch. Even though Su Dingfang was not willing to make an enemy of Du Qi, there was nothing he could do in this situation.
After all, they were already at this stage.
Su Dingfang cautioned, "General Hou, should we attack or retreat? Make a decision quickly. Otherwise, if the soldiers stop at the midpoint, they'll just be throwing their lives away. "
"Beat the drums! Attack with all your strength!"
Hou Junji immediately ordered.
He was not someone who was willing to give up.
If there was an explosion zone ahead, even if he had to use his body of flesh and blood, he would still carve out a path.
Bong! Bong!!!
The sound of war drums resounded in the air.
The impassioned sound of the war drums was vigorous and grand, urging the soldiers to charge forward. Hou Junji's soldiers were all veterans of the battlefield, but they were also well-trained soldiers. When they received Hou Junji's order to attack, even though there were mines in front of them, they clenched their teeth and charged forward. None of them retreated.
These were veteran soldiers!
These were the Tang army!
When Du Qi saw this, he felt a little regretful.
What a pity for these soldiers.
Although Du Qi felt regret, he did not feel the slightest bit of benevolence. Because benevolence toward one's enemy was cruelty toward oneself. He continued to calmly stand in the camp and watch as the battle continued.
The slaughter on the battlefield was still ongoing.
Under the fierce assault of the Tang army, explosions could be heard all over the place.
The mines outside the camp were being detonated one after another.
Many Tang soldiers had been killed or wounded.
However, these fearless Tang soldiers continued to advance. In the blink of an eye, they were less than twenty paces away. When Hou Junji saw that there were fewer explosions, he grew excited.
In his excitement, he clenched his fists and waved them in the air as he loudly shouted, "Pass on my order! After we break through the camp, all soldiers who attack, whether they're dead or alive, will receive double their salaries and double their rewards and compensation."
The army had its own rules for rewards and compensation.
This was already pretty good.
With Hou Junji's adjustment, news of this improved treatment reached the Tang soldiers at the very front. The soldiers of the Tang army became excited and rushed forward again, trying to break Du Qi's camp.
Du Qi said indifferently, "Grenade Squad, attack."
Following Du Qi's order, the soldiers who were responsible for throwing grenades immediately went forward to throw grenades.
For the sake of convenience, Du Qi specially formed a team of grenade throwers and had them throw the grenades. The caps of the grenades had already been unscrewed. The soldiers pulled the fuses and threw the grenades out.
The distance between the two sides was less than 20 steps. The grenade easily fell into the crowd of Tang soldiers.
Boom! Boom!!
Another explosion rang out.
In particular, there were many grenade throwers. The grenades were thrown densely, and row after row of explosions caused the Tang soldiers at the front to be blown off their horses. They were completely dumbfounded, and the casualties were even greater.
Within a distance of twenty steps, the power of the crossbow bolts was even more powerful. Each bolt was shot with tyrannical force, easily piercing through three or four people's bodies. Without the grenades, the Tang soldiers would have been able to quickly charge forward. Even with the ballista bolts, the ballista bolts needed to be reloaded, so the Tang soldiers could take advantage of the short distance to charge forward.
Unfortunately, the grenades were suppressing the Tang soldiers who were rushing forward. Under the combined attack of the crossbow bolts and grenades, a line of death was formed. As long as the Tang soldiers rushed forward, they would all die. No one could continue forward.
Hou Junji's eyes widened.
His cheeks twitched again.
His heart sank once more.
What was going on? Why did Du Qi have weapons that could explode? Hou Junji's mind was riddled with questions, but no one could answer them for him. From atop his horse, Hou Junji could see soldiers falling one after another.
It was obvious that the number of casualties was increasing.
"Beat the gong to retreat!"
Hou Junji helplessly ordered a retreat when he saw that he couldn't charge forward.
With the beating of the gong, the charging Tang soldiers finally began to retreat. Even though they had retreated, many soldiers had still been killed. Only after the soldiers had retreated from the range of the ballista bolts did everything calm down.
The officer leading the charge came up to Hou Junji and reported, "General, in this fierce attack of our eight thousand soldiers, we lost around three thousand six hundred."
Bastard!
Hou Junji was enraged.
More than three thousand!
One could even say that it was four thousand!
One had to realize that the battle between Hou Junji and Du Qi had only just begun. Hou Junji hadn't even touched Du Qi's camp, but he had already lost more than three thousand men. This was something that Hou Junji had never encountered in his entire life. The losses were far too great.
Hou Junji turned to Su Dingfang and asked, "Governor Su, you've been on the border this entire time. Do you not know anything about Du Qi's situation? If you knew even the tiniest bit, this wouldn't have happened. "
Su Dingfang replied, "General Hou, this is Du Qi's secret weapon. How could I know? The only thing I know is that Du Qi used this weapon in his war with the Turks. The problem is that I don't know what kind of weapon it is, what it's made of, or where it's made. Du Qi is extremely secretive about this matter, so he doesn't know anything about it. "
"Trash!"
Hou Junji couldn't help but rebuke Su Dingfang.
Su Dingfang slightly creased his brow.
Although his rank was lower than Hou Junji's, he didn't really fear Hou Junji. But Su Dingfang knew that the soldiers were more important, so he didn't want to get into a conflict with Hou Junji.
Seeing that Su Dingfang wasn't replying, Hou Junji decided not to speak with Su Dingfang. He turned his gaze back to the entrance of Du Qi's camp and began to think of a plan to defeat the enemy.
Du Qi also looked over.
He just so happened to run into Hou Junji.
Du Qi faintly smiled and said, "Hou Junji, the battle has only just begun, but you've already lost three to four thousand men. How many casualties do you think you can take in the aftermath? This king belongs to the Tang dynasty, but you attacked me and forced me to rebel against the Tang. In the end, both you and Gao Shilian will have to bear this crime. "
Hou Junji and Gao Shilian both paled.
The two of them hadn't considered this problem before, but now that Du Qi had brought it up, their hearts sank. Although Du Qi had occupied the Western Regions, he was still the Pacifying West King of the Tang dynasty. The Western Regions could be considered part of the Tang dynasty.
If Gao Shilian and Hou Junji had come to the Western Regions to destroy Du Qi and take over the Four Provinces of the Western Regions, that was one thing, because they were expanding the territory and establishing achievements. But if they failed and forced Du Qi to rebel against the Tang, they would have to bear this crime.
This was a matter of pros and cons.
Hou Junji took in a deep breath, suppressed his panic, and coldly said, "Du Qi, the battle has only just begun. What are you in such a rush for? You've only gained a small advantage for now. Furthermore, you're only so arrogant because you have a secret weapon in your hands. Once I break into your camp and destroy your turtle shell, you'll definitely lose in the battle. "
Hou Junji scornfully said, "You claim to have one hundred thousand men, but you're just a mob."
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