Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 646 Constantinople, the Cross, the Giant Bear of Our Heavenly Father!
Less than two minutes after the brigade assembled, the two followers sent by Li Xuanying to deliver the prisoners returned with a messenger. He delivered the specific orders of the legion to Guo Kang, which indeed required them to advance, drive out the enemies in front, and then set up defenses in the direction close to Alexandria. The main force of the legion would advance from that direction to cut off the connection between the enemy in the port area and other enemies besieging the city, and they needed to open the passage and guard the flank.

After Guo Kang received the official order, he signed for it and immediately asked Lu Yougong to lead the 100-man team to set off. Then he sent someone to inform Wang Hongru to obey Lu Yougong's orders. The auxiliary troops also gathered and prepared to move forward. According to the plan, he had to concentrate the forces of the three 100-man teams and the auxiliary troops to capture the mound where the enemy was entrenched as soon as possible. On the west side, because the third brigade would also move forward, he just needed to pay attention to not being out of touch, and there was no need to keep too many troops to watch.

All their artillery was given to Lu Yougong. This weapon was the "88 Cannon" that had played a huge role in the previous chaos in Dadu. It was relatively light and could be carried by several people. Although it was a bit difficult to move on the beach here, it could still be moved smoothly. It was already a rare weapon.

In addition, since the accompanying horses had been unloaded from the ship, there were now dozens of riders. Guo Kang called Li Xuanying over and told him that these people were under his command and should look for opportunities on their own after the front-line teams.

As for other directions, Guo Kang ordered the fifth and sixth battalions to move forward and deploy offensive formations to contain the enemy in other directions. If someone tried to come from other directions and flank the troops attacking the hill, they could attack the enemy in turn.

Li Xuanying originally commanded the 600-man team, and appointed his deputy Li Zhu as the acting commander, and let Guo Xianliang continue to be the adjutant. Guo Xianwen was still the centurion of the 500-man team. Guo Kang also warned them that they needed to fight independently this time, and they should listen more to Li Baihu and learn how he fought.

After everyone else switched to attacking, the entire brigade switched from horizontal to diagonal, and moved forward a long way. Captain Lucas's 300-man team no longer needed to defend in place. Guo Kang therefore ordered them to return to the road and wait for the brigade headquarters to arrive, replacing the 100-man team as the brigade's reserve.

After the order to change direction was issued, several messengers ran out immediately. Soon, the main force of the second battalion began to concentrate on the left wing, forming an attacking posture.

The enemy was on a high ground, so they obviously noticed the changes here. Guo Kang saw from afar that they had also started to move. More infantry gathered at the front and began to line up in a chaotic manner.

On Guo Kang's side, three hundred-man teams also arrived at the foot of the mound. The first hundred-man team was on the right, the second hundred-man team was on the left, and the fourth hundred-man team was at the back, forming a common inverted triangle formation. The two cannons were also set up, and under Lu Yougong's command, they were placed in front of the formation and began to fire in the direction of the enemy.

The first shell hit low and hit the hillside. The second shell deviated to the side and rubbed the side of the enemy's front line and flew out. However, although it did not hit anyone, the huge noise and the smoke and dust raised by the shells still frightened the Egyptian and Bedouin infantry on the opposite side. The people in the front row began to retreat, while those in the back were still moving forward. The two groups squeezed together and their formation was in chaos.

The Mamluks who were supervising the battle from behind the battle formation could only yell and whip the infantrymen to force them to be quiet. However, everyone knew that they could not wait any longer in their current state. If the next shot hit someone, the infantrymen would have to disperse. Therefore, they could only drive them forward and take the initiative to attack down the mountain.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, some enemies took out bows and arrows and shot at them. The Roman soldiers also took out bows and arrows to fight back. The situation on the ship was repeated. With the advantage of armor, the two centuries easily suppressed the larger number of enemies.

Guo Kang's command center, with a large group of auxiliary soldiers, was also moving forward quickly. They soon arrived at the bend in the road and met up with Captain Lucas's 300-man team. Then they began to organize the auxiliary soldiers and prepared them to continue moving forward.

On the other side, while the two sides were firing at each other, the artillery was not idle either, and soon opened fire again. This time, a shell fell into the enemy's not very neat formation, jumping and knocking over a group of people. Amid exclamations and curses, the Mamluks had to give up the terrain advantage again and urged the soldiers to attack.

Finally authorized, the enemy infantry no longer retreated in panic and tried to hide behind the earthen slope. Instead, they started to yell, shouting religious slogans and all kinds of strange words that were incomprehensible, and rushed towards this formation. Their shouting could be heard from the front and back of the entire brigade.

"I thought the Egyptians were too cowardly to fight, but this is quite impressive," Guo Kang said with some surprise.

"What kind of momentum is this? It's like not having enough food." Captain Lucas said disapprovingly: "When we were fighting Shinra, the war cries of those mercenaries were much louder than this. But this is not the time two thousand years ago when tribes were fighting each other. There is no point in shouting loudly."

"What you said is not true. They really don't have enough food to eat." Father Ivan began to tell the truth.

"..."

Guo Kang was speechless for a moment. The two centurions on the front line were well prepared for this situation. They spread out their formations, and the soldiers in the front row took out their loaded short muskets. When the enemy ran more than ten steps away, the war drums in the centurions suddenly sounded. The legionnaires fired a volley, directly knocking down the opposite row of people. Then, in the smoke, they dropped their muskets, picked up their weapons, and strode forward to meet the enemy.

The sudden burst of fire made many enemies subconsciously startled. Their battle line was not neat to begin with, and some of the bravest Bedouin warriors had already rushed to the front of the legion formation. But although the legionnaires' formation was loose, each of these scattered soldiers had to fight at least two people in the front row, as well as the support of the back row, and they were soon all chopped down.

However, the enemy was not intimidated. More infantrymen, holding spears, scimitars, and even various hammers and shovels, and wearing colorful and simple short robes, rushed forward densely.

Their protective gear was very simple, most people had no armor, and could only use thick cloth or wood chips for some protection. The elite soldiers of the legion had been fighting armored enemies for years, and were used to using long swords and axes. These weapons were too lethal to the enemy.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere as the two sides clashed. Severed limbs were scattered all over the ground, and the dying let out inhuman howls in pain, and blood quickly spread on the wet riverbank. The two centurion veterans stretched the formation into a long horizontal row of a hundred meters, encircling all the enemies at once.

The enemy was outnumbered, but was retreating. Their officers were obviously aware of this problem and quickly waved their flags to ask for help from other troops around them. Under the command of several Mamluks, a large group of Bedouins wearing recognizable robes and holding spears and swords came out from behind the formation and tried to move to the flank to outflank their formation.

The 400th team in the rear immediately took action and went to block the way. This team was mainly composed of new soldiers, but their backbones had participated in the tragic civil strife in Dadu. Several centurions were almost all ruthless people who followed Guo Kang to fight throughout the game.

Although they lacked sufficient training in formations and techniques, the tribal warriors they were fighting against did not seem to have any concept of formations. The two sides soon began to engage in close combat, cursing and fighting each other.

"Why are there so many of them? Are all the enemies on the front line coming here?" Guo Kang became worried again: "Let's go and reinforce them quickly."

"Don't underestimate them, they can hold on." Captain Lucas advised quickly, "The enemy may look numerous, but I estimate that there are only about 2,000 of them. Our three 100-man teams are much overstaffed, so they are more than enough. We just need to watch from here and don't scare ourselves."

"Besides, it's almost dark. The enemy's soldiers are too low-quality and may not be able to fight at night. They should be the ones who are anxious now. There's no need for us to send in the reserve troops so early."

"Okay, then don't move for now--" Before Guo Kang could finish his words, the sound of horse hooves was heard again in front of the formation.

He turned around and saw a large group of cavalrymen in the distance, estimated to be hundreds of people, riding their horses towards this side. Li Xuanying took action immediately and led his men to the front line without waiting for Guo Kang to send a signal. He came to the 600th team, communicated with several officers, gave some instructions, and then got on his horse again.

He left most of the riders behind the formation, and only led a dozen selected people, and walked slowly forward. The enemy cavalry observed for a moment, then changed their formation and ran towards the battle. They avoided the side where the 400th team was located and went around to the other end, probably wanting to keep an eye on the flank and rear of the 100th team.

After discovering Li Xuanying's cavalry, the enemy took a quick look and rushed over, trying to drive them away first. Li Xuanying immediately led his men to run back, and the enemy followed closely. Seeing the two hundred-man teams in the rear, some enemies began to hesitate, but Li Xuanying and his men kept shooting arrows and stayed nearby. It seemed that if they didn't drive them away, they couldn't attack the main infantry with peace of mind.

The leading cavalry officer blew the horn, and the enemy cavalry moved forward again, while Li Xuanying and others immediately dispersed to the sides. The enemy in the lead also split up to pursue, and the people behind slowed down a bit and began to turn according to the officer's order. They probably thought that it would be enough to leave some people to continue to drive, and the others could go to do their work.

At this moment, the 600th team's formation began to sound rapid drumbeats. More than a hundred of them immediately charged at the enemy who had slowed down and changed their formation.

The main force of the 600-man team was composed of the sons and servants of several noble families. As they ran forward, they formed three triangle formations according to their affiliations: left, middle, and right. Guo Xianliang and Li Zhu were on the left and right sides respectively, and the middle triangle was led by Zhang Yong, the nephew of Zhang Gongliang, the Marshal of the Southern Court. Although the total number of people was small, they moved quickly and in unison. They completed the formation change in a moment and rushed towards the enemy who was preparing to turn.

The enemy did not expect this reaction, but they did not panic. They just retreated together as usual, preparing to keep a little distance to avoid being entangled by the infantry. However, in the gap between the three formations, the remaining thirty-odd riders rushed out first, regardless of the absolute disadvantage in numbers, and rushed towards the enemy.

Li Xuanying suddenly turned around and fired a shot, knocking the nearest enemy off his horse, then turned his horse's head and fought with the pursuing enemy.

The enemy just gathered together, some people immediately retreated, while others did not have enough time and space to react and could only fight. While they were fighting, the infantry also quickly surrounded them.

Guo Kang saw Guo Xianliang carrying a large axe and running in front. An enemy came forward with a spear, but Guo Xianliang ducked and dodged, swung his axe to block the horse's legs, hooked it to the ground, then turned around and swung it, neatly chopping the back of the enemy's head as he fell forward. Another enemy swung his knife and chopped him down, so he squatted down and used the axe handle to block the blade. He took a step forward and hit the enemy in the chest with the back of the axe, knocking him away.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the 500th team in the rear, in a not very neat horizontal line, also quickly followed up to cover them. Guo Kang saw the leader Guo Xianwen, and tried to stand out from the crowd several times, but was forcibly pulled back by the old servants around him. He could only watch Guo Xianliang hacking there in dismay.

In the meantime, the enemy had been routed. Their ranks were not in good order, and they had no advantage in fighting. Moreover, many people had not even decided whether to fight or retreat in the face of the sudden attack. As a result, some people fled early, while others were quickly dealt with.

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Li Xuanying also ended the battle at this time. The number of pursuers was not large, and they had always thought that he was running away, and they did not think about how much fighting power he had hidden, so they were all killed when they were caught off guard. However, he did not rest, and pointed to the distance, and then, regardless of the fleeing enemy cavalry, he led his cavalry and rushed forward.

The infantry of the sixth squad followed behind him. The fifth squad raised the banners of "We are about to attack" and "We need support" at the same time, and another person rode a horse and ran towards Guo Kang.

"They are also going to outflank the enemy." Guo Kang immediately realized Li Xuanying's goal: "He should be taking the sixth team with him, so he hopes we can fill the gap. We really have to go this time."

This time, the situation was too simple and straightforward, and the other officers around him agreed with his judgment, and everyone took action immediately. When the rider arrived, he heard the same message - Li Xuanying was going to lead the elite infantry and cavalry to attack, and hoped that Guo Kang would send reserve forces to supplement the front line.

With the few minutes saved, Guo Kang and his men had already finalized the follow-up plan. Captain Lucas's 300-man team continued to prepare to prevent new enemies from appearing. The work of filling the front line was left to the auxiliary soldiers.

Guo Kang originally wanted to personally lead the guards to command the auxiliary troops to the front line. This would increase the proportion of their reliable veterans, help better organize everyone's actions, and make it easier for him to observe the increasingly distant front line. However, no one could accept this.

"These people are different from other recruits. Many of them are in combat for the first time and have seen blood for the first time." Guo Kang pointed out: "If I don't go, who will boost morale and reassure everyone?"

"You can't always be in charge of this kind of thing." Father Ivan stepped forward and said, "Let me encourage everyone. This is the responsibility of our church."

Others all expressed their agreement, and Guo Kang had no choice but to agree.

Father Ivan was still wearing a simple robe, but he had a layer of lamellar armor on the outside and an iron helmet on his head. He handed the cross in his hand to his deputy, picked up the flag in one hand and the iron-headed mace in the other, and strode towards the auxiliary soldiers.

The auxiliary soldiers were all a little nervous and looked at him. Father Ivan pondered for a moment and asked everyone, "Do you remember the song the captain taught you last time?"

"I remember!" everyone answered.

"Well, sing. Now is the time for Heavenly Father and Rome to test your vows," Father Ivan said loudly, and led the singing:

"Our Rome will punish the whole world
From the Pillars of Hercules to the east of Euphrates
Everywhere on earth will be sung:
Constantinople, the cross, the great bear of our Father!"

The priest's voice was loud but rough, and the tune was not very accurate, far inferior to the Greeks singing in the cathedral. However, the auxiliary soldiers were still excited and shouted in unison:

"Our Rome will punish the whole world
From the Pillars of Hercules to the east of Euphrates
Everywhere on earth will be sung:
Constantinople, the cross, the great bear of our Father!
All the nations that stand here,

We have become one.
A deep bow of gratitude -

From the most powerful regime in the world!
All the nations standing here
We have become one.
A deep bow of gratitude -

From the most powerful regime in the world!
Long live! Long live! "

Amid the cheers, Father Ivan strode forward without looking back, walking alone at the front of the team. Behind him were several assistants holding crosses and flags. The church's drum car followed behind them, beating out a low rhythm. The new recruits also took uncoordinated steps, starting in rows and rushing towards the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)