Chapter 299 - Bloody Battle at Wuchi Path
Wuchi Path was more than just a path, it was a region that lay at the border between the southwestern Shu Region and Miaojiang. Anyone who wants to enter Miaojiang from southwestern Shu must pass through there.
The area consists of three connected mountains which were collectively known as Wuchi Path. The treacherous path through the mountains was narrow and could only accommodate two horses side by side at best.
The Miao rebel forces that Bahu led were stationed halfway up Wuchi Path.
The normally quiet Wuchi Path echoed with the thunderous sound of battle cries today. Blood flowed down the winding mountain paths, dying the river that ran through the valley a deep red.
Xiang Damao, a battalion commander from the Chengdu garrison, had been ordered to suppress the northern Miao rebel forces. Before arriving, he had assumed this would be an easy and certain victory. After all, these so-called rebels were just commoners with some martial skills. But as the bloody battle reports piled up, he realized he had made a grave strategic miscalculation.
The Miao people were born and raised in the mountains and the alpine forests were like their own backyards. Due to a combination of the treacherous terrain and his soldiers’ lack of mountain combat experience, his troops had been caught off guard during their first clash with the rebel Miao.
The agile Miao fighters moved through the forest like monkeys and were quite skilled in combat. They each wielded a weapon called the gou-gou blade, nearly three feet long, that had a hook on the other end of the handle.
The gou-gou blade's razor-sharp blade alone was threatening enough. In mountain combat, it was devastatingly effective. A single sweep of its gleaming blade often sent a head flying high into the air.
Xiang Damao's soldiers were faced with countless disadvantages. The narrow mountain paths were unsuitable for mounted combat, forcing his cavalry to throw away their greatest edge in order to dismount and fight on foot.