第3章 战场的终局 「追击！把王国军都推下去！」 寒煜公扇动着部下情绪，胜负已分，不需要精致的操作，需要的只有鼓励士兵奋勇杀敌扩 大战果． 这次出兵由於预想的战场一开始就被王国军占据了地利，所以寒煜公的局面开场并不好打 ，而且这个战场不利於骑兵的开展，帝国的主力是游牧轻骑兵，狭窄的正面根本不适合骑 兵活动，因此大批的马被放在後方，正面战场都用下马的士兵来当步兵用． 这也是王国军勇於将重骑兵这样早放入战场的主要原因，若是战场是平原，轻骑兵可以耗 死重骑兵的战场，王国军是不可能中计的． 结果王国军还是中了计，重骑兵被歼灭，主攻的步兵遭到痛击，靠着艾森豪跟他的嫡系军 团断後，王国军步兵算是大部份逃了出去，代价就是艾森豪这个王国的未来总元帅夭折在 这里，还有王国一个大家族的家家白幡． 巴浩然知道回国去将会面对的是如何的下场，王国的传统，打败战的将军将要面对阵亡将 士的遗族挑战，遗族有权力为自己的亲人报仇，向愚蠢的指挥官报仇． 巴浩然必然会遭到艾森豪家族的挑战，而他也必死无疑，但是现在他必须要做到自己该做 到的工作，带领更多的人回家，这是远征军指挥官的工作，也将是他最後的工作． 巴浩然纠集最後的弓箭手，他们重新的补给了箭矢，让他们射住上山的道路，在道路的两 旁点上篝火，天色越来越暗，士兵需要见到回家的路． 残兵就是如此． 残存亦末路，兵败如山倒，败者无一死，将来富如山． 可惜这次的败者死的很惨，所以没有将来了． 收归的士兵几乎都丢弃了铠甲，太重了，在逃命而且是往山上逃命的过程，铠甲是负担， 所幸士兵的武器大部份都在，这算是不幸中的大幸． 总兵力七万，王国三千重骑兵折损，一万艾森豪将军的亲兵军队遭到歼灭，整体来说王国 军还不算失去战斗力，还能一战． 预期中的追击军队并没有出现，帝国军没有追击，而从高处往下看，帝国军的营地悄然无 声． 诡异，一场大胜战之後，帝国军应该是在狂欢，并且清算战功，然而帝国的营地居然一丝 的火光都没有？ 出事了吗？莫非帝国内部出了事情，让寒煜公放弃这唾手可得的全面胜利撤退了？ 巴浩然的脑中不断的反复推敲可能的发展，得到了一个不可思议的结论． ＂帝国内部有变，根据情报帝国皇帝这一年来身体都不好，所以寒煜公的退兵非常有可能 是帝国皇帝出了事，他要回去处理内部的问题！＂ ＂这就代表着他只会带着亲兵先回去，帝国军队会在没有指挥官的情况下慢慢归国，这就 是个痛击帝国军的大好机会！＂ 巴浩然从各方面推敲都觉得有这种可能． 同样属於大草原的国家，王国军也有着大批的马匹可用，巴浩然让一万弓箭手上马，连夜 下山追击帝国军，同时安排副将带另外两万轻骑兵於明早出发，作为第二阵接应巴浩然， 剩余的残存士兵守好阵地，不能让帝国军通过． 如果艾森豪没死，巴浩然不会如此莽撞的做出这样的决定，然而艾森豪的死，逼着老将巴 浩然无路可退了，他必须要取得一场大胜来证明自己的能力，才能避免被遗属报复． 进入了帝国军的营地，果然走的非常匆促，战场上面的战利品都没时间带走，巴浩然也夺 回了艾森豪首级与躯体，军旗也夺了回来，虽然说都是敌人留下的，但是这也是勇敢的闯 入敌军营地才能取回，这是勇敢而无畏的行动． 计算营地的火堆温度，帝国军走的非常匆忙，应该还没走远，巴浩然更加确定了自己推断 是正确的，让全军上马，最大速度追击！ 巴浩然派了传令回上山，让第二阵提早出发，让残存士兵下山来把装备搬回去，重骑兵的 武装很贵，将来重建会需要用到． 下山出了隘口，巴浩然一路驱赶着部队快速推进，而地下满布着骑兵的踏印，这证明了帝 国军上马撤退了，老将军一马当先的追击，情绪高昂，好不威风． 逆转局势就在眼前，只要咬上了帝国军的後卫，大胜就是结果． 三个时辰的追赶，王国军俘虏了一批运送辎重的帝国军夫，帝国士兵都跑了，就留下这些 平民军夫． 巴浩然现在完全确认了帝国撤退的事实，更加的让军队加快脚步，追赶帝国军的後卫，挽 回脸面的战役就靠这场了． 巴浩然带头领军加快速度，他预计翻过这个小山头，就应该能见到帝国军了，而当他上了 山头之後，他果然见到了帝国军． 只不过是严阵以待等着他的帝国军！ 「退！这是陷阱．」 老将的经验直接让她判断出这是陷阱，帝国军两翼开始从两侧包围小山丘，而且帝国军的 骑兵体力充沛，自己的一万士兵骑的马都已经气喘吁吁了． 然而前进容易，後退困难，尤其是没体力的骑兵，巴浩然能做的就是让士兵快撤退，换来 的是更多的马匹暴毙在路上，落队的士兵都成了俘虏，整个骑兵队已经没有了组织． 只有看後面的接应部队了，只要能接应上，自己还是能逃出去． 终於在减员严重下，巴浩然跟後面的接应两万骑兵会合，这时候就没必要在这里死战，先 撤退再说，但是帝国军的骑兵却是如同附骨蛆虫一般的死咬不放，像是驱赶一样驱赶着王 国军撤退． 绝望了！ 通往归路的隘口，被帝国的步兵把守住了，并且连营结寨牢不可破，两万余王国骑兵，被 後有追兵前有阻兵的局面下陷入包围网，最终在巴浩然自尽之後，半数的骑兵投降帝国军 ，另外半数抵抗到底被歼灭． 帝国的骑兵继续穿过步兵阵地夺回原来的主营，正在搬运战利品上山的王国步兵哪里是帝 国骑兵的对手，这次的追击就是彻底的崩溃，最终王国远征军，全军覆没，除了投降之外 ，无人生还． １－３完 然而这场战役，皇帝军的惨状是毫无疑问的苦酒，必须要让寒煜公痛苦的饮下． hapter 3: The End of the Battlefield “Pursue them! Drive the Kingdom troops off the cliffs!” Duke Aureus fanned the flames of his soldiers’ fervor. The battle had already been decided. No delicate maneuvers were needed now— only the relentless push to expand the victory. From the beginning， the terrain had disadvantaged the Empire. The Kingdom held the high ground， and the narrow valley left no room for cavalry. The Empire’s main strength—its nomadic light horsemen—could not deploy. Most of the horses were tethered in the rear while dismounted riders served as improvised infantry. This was precisely why the Kingdom dared to commit their heavy cavalry so early. Had the terrain been open plains， the Empire’s light riders would have whittled the heavy cavalry to exhaustion. But in this cramped ravine， the Kingdom believed the Empire helpless. They were wrong. The heavy cavalry was annihilated. The main infantry thrust was shattered. The only reason the Kingdom’s foot soldiers escaped at all was Eisenhower— whose rearguard bought them time with blood. But the price was steep: Eisenhower， the Kingdom’s future supreme marshal， lay dead. And with him， one of the great noble houses had been extinguished. General Bahoran knew exactly what awaited him back home. In their tradition， when a campaign was lost， a commander must answer to the families of the fallen. The bereaved held the right to challenge the one responsible for their kin’s deaths. Bahoran would inevitably face a challenge from the Eisenhower clan—and he would not survive it. But that was a matter for later. For now， he still had a duty: to bring home as many soldiers as possible. It would be his final act as commander of the expeditionary army. He gathered the remaining archers. Their quivers were refilled， torches lit along the mountain path. Night was falling， and the men needed light to see their way home. A battered army is always the same— its soldiers discard armor to lighten the desperate climb， its victory songs silent， its future dim. Most had thrown away their breastplates during the uphill retreat; armor was too heavy. At least they kept their weapons. A small mercy in a disaster. Out of seventy thousand， the Kingdom had lost three thousand elite heavy cavalry and ten thousand of Eisenhower’s personal corps— but on paper， the army still had enough strength to fight another day. Yet the expected Imperial pursuit never came. Bahoran frowned. The Imperial camp below was silent—dark， without even a single fire burning. It was wrong. A victorious army should be roaring with celebration， dividing spoils， shouting the Duke of Winter’s name. But instead—nothing. A chill ran through him. Something has happened…? Could it be that the Empire had suffered internal turmoil? Rumors for the past year spoke of the Emperor’s failing health. Bahoran’s mind raced. “If the Emperor has died… the Duke of Winter must return immediately to take control of the capital. That means he’ll take only his personal guard， leaving the bulk of the army to withdraw slowly. That… would be the perfect moment to strike the Empire’s unled forces!” The more he analyzed， the more the theory made sense. Both the Kingdom and the Empire hailed from the vast grasslands— both possessed swift cavalry. Bahoran quickly reorganized his forces: ten thousand mounted archers would ride through the night in pursuit; another twenty thousand light cavalry would depart at dawn to reinforce him; the remainder would hold the mountain pass and block the Empire’s return. Had Eisenhower survived， Bahoran would never have taken such a reckless gamble. But Eisenhower’s death left him no escape. He needed a victory—any victory—to salvage his honor and survive the reckoning waiting at home. He entered the Imperial camp. They had indeed withdrawn in great haste— spoils left behind， equipment abandoned. He retrieved Eisenhower’s severed head and body， as well as the captured banner. Though left behind by the enemy， reclaiming them required courage， and it would earn him the right to stand before the Eisenhower clan with dignity. By examining the temperature of the extinguished fire pits， Bahoran judged the Empire had left not long before. They could be caught. “Mount up! Full speed!” A messenger galloped back to the mountains to urge the second wave to depart early. The remaining soldiers would retrieve the valuable heavy cavalry armor— equipment too precious to leave behind. Once they left the pass， tracks covered the snow. Horseshoes. Countless. Proof that the Empire was indeed retreating on horseback. Bahoran rode at the front， fury and hope burning in equal measure. Redemption was in sight. If he caught the Imperial rear guard， he could overturn the humiliation of Coldwell Gorge. Three hours into the chase， his troops captured a caravan of Imperial laborers— civilians transporting supplies. The soldiers had fled， leaving their workers behind. This confirmed it: the Empire was retreating. Bahoran’s conviction solidified. He pressed the army even faster， determined to seize the Duke of Winter’s tail. As he crested a small ridge， he finally saw the Imperial troops. But not retreating— waiting. In formation. Prepared. “Retreat! It’s a trap!” The old general’s instincts screamed. Imperial cavalry surged along the flanks， encircling the hill. The Kingdom’s horses were exhausted; the Empire’s were fresh. Advancing was easy. Retreat， under pursuit， was agony. Panicked horses collapsed; soldiers fell behind and were taken prisoner. The formation dissolved. Only the second wave could save them now. Bahoran managed to join his twenty thousand reinforcements. There was no point in fighting— the priority was escape. But the Empire did not relent. Their cavalry clung to the Kingdom’s heels like parasites， driving them mercilessly downhill. Despair crashed over him. The pass—their road home— was held by Imperial infantry， their camp fortified， escape cut off completely. Twenty thousand Kingdom riders— pinned between the Imperial hammer and the anvil of their own defeat— had nowhere left to run. When Bahoran finally took his own life， half the cavalry surrendered， the other half fought to the last and were slaughtered. The Imperial riders swept past their infantry and reclaimed their original camp. There， they fell upon the remaining Kingdom infantry— those who had been gathering spoils， unaware—and crushed them. The pursuit ended not in victory， but in annihilation. The Kingdom’s expeditionary army was destroyed. None survived save the prisoners. 1-3 End Yet for all the Empire’s triumph， the aftermath awaiting the Emperor’s army was nothing short of bitter poison— a cup Duke Aureus would be forced to drink to the last drop. --

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