The elite refugees who attacked Wanjiabao were actually under Zhao Shicai. Under the cover of businessmen, old people, women and children, and using the kindness and compassion of the Perak soldiers, they successfully deceived the gate of the fortress. The businessmen, old men, women and children were all forced to come here by Xiong Ben. They knew in their hearts that swords and guns were short-sighted in fighting, and their trip would be dangerous, but they had to come because Xiong Ben had imprisoned their relatives as hostages. If If you don't cooperate, your whole family will be slaughtered. Under coercion and inducement, the miserable faces of the crying women and children became even more real, which made the soldiers guarding the fort feel compassionate and persuaded Shi Zhongzhu to open the door.
When his subordinates disguised as refugees took businessmen, old men, women and children to Wanjiabao, Zhao Shicai led most of the marquis two miles away. At this distance, due to the obstruction of the mountains, the fortress guards could not see the army, and the roar of the rushing Wenjing River also covered up the sound of the men and horses. When he saw the successful signal, he hurriedly led his troops to Wanjiabao. In Zhao Shicai's view, taking Wanjiabao means that the task of quelling the Perak Army in the mountains has been basically completed. It can be inferred from the easy capture of Wanjia Fort that although the Perak Army was very capable in building the city, it was obviously poor in strategy. Such a strong city and fortress was not guarded by heavy troops, so it fell easily. It is said that Xiong Ben was extremely afraid of the Thunderbolt Army, and soldiers who were defeated in Mongolia also said that their fighting power was fierce, but now it seems that it is nothing more than that. Of course, this is God's favor. All he needs to do next is to keep up his efforts and crush the Thunderbolt Army into powder with the force of thunder. If you capture this mountain, why worry about getting promoted and making a fortune? Thinking of this, Zhao Shicai couldn't help but feel even more proud, and urged his soldiers to march towards Wanjiazhai halfway up the mountain.
Before Zhao Shicai led his troops to attack Wanjiazhai, he sent a message to the Mongolian centurion who was guarding the formation, saying that the troops were expensive and fast, and he would take down the Perak Army in one go. But in fact, his inner plan was to take all the credit. On the one hand, he was worried that Xiong Ben and his men would succeed in a sneak attack on Wanjiazhai from a small road. On the other hand, he was not willing to share the fruits of victory with the newly arrived troops from Qingcheng County. . Of course, what he reported to the Mongolian centurion was that the new auxiliary troops in Qingcheng County were now five miles away. If they waited, they would miss the opportunity to fight. While justifying taking the credit alone, he made a complaint. When the messenger he sent to report to the Mongolian centurion further behind, he would definitely encounter the new auxiliary troops in Qingcheng County, but he would definitely not reveal any information about the battle situation.
After leaving one hundred men to guard the fort, Zhao Shicai led the remaining five hundred men to Wanjiazhai. Before setting off, he ordered the defenders to close the two front and rear gates of the fort, and no doors could be opened without his order. Closing the back door is to prevent the Perak Army from raiding from the direction of Liulizhai, and closing the front door is to prevent the new annexed troops from Qingcheng County from entering the city. Of course he would definitely open the door for the Qingcheng County Army, but by that time he had already conquered Wanjiazhai and wiped out the Perak Army.
The process of marching into Wanjiazhai was also very smooth. There are a few empty and dilapidated watchtowers along the way from Wanjiabao to Wanjiazhai. It seems that the guards have fled long ago. This is not surprising. After all, several Perak Army soldiers escaped from Wanjiabao before, and they led a huge army. How could they dare to flee without seeing the wind? However, although there was no resistance from the defenders, Zhao Shicai's men were not advancing very fast. In addition to being narrow and congested, the mountain roads were also rugged, which made it difficult for the soldiers of the New Affiliated Army of Dayi County, most of whom came from the plains. These newly attached soldiers were buzzing as they marched. On the contrary, Wanjiazhai seemed unusually quiet, with only the occasional head sticking out of the wall to look.
When he was one mile away from the gate of Wanjiazhai, Zhao Shicai ordered his men to stop advancing and prepare to attack as a whole. However, before attacking, he still had to send people to persuade them to surrender. If the Perak Army was willing to kneel down and ask for surrender, he could consider killing fewer people. Of course, killing less is not because of the bodhisattva's heart, but because they can be sold into slavery, which can be a huge income.
Just as Zhao Shicai was happily planning what to do with the property and people he was about to acquire, the gate of Wanjiazhai slowly opened, and dozens of strong men worked together to move something from the wall of the village and push it down the mountain road... Zhao Shicai Before they could see clearly, the soldiers standing at the front started to cry and scream, squeezing against the cliff on the left side of the road. Some soldiers even panicked and jumped off the cliff on the right side of the road. When the crowd in front of him dispersed, he could clearly see the stone ball coming towards the crowd quickly. Under the influence of gravity, the watermelon-sized stone rolled faster and faster, rolling down the mountain road with an irresistible force. Those who couldn't avoid it would have their bones broken, or they would be killed on the spot. A stone ball rushed down from Zhao Shicai with the sound of wind. Although he was able to avoid this disaster due to his quick reaction, several soldiers around him were not so lucky. Some people were hit and had their arms and legs broken. Some people were hit so hard that they vomited blood and even died, and another person was knocked directly and fell under the cliff.
The stone balls came and went as fast as they came, and in an instant there was a sound of crying and howling on the mountain road. In fact, although there were dozens of stone balls pushed down by the Perak Army, most of them rolled down the cliff next to the mountain road. Only a dozen of them rushed directly towards the new annexed army. Only about 20 people were actually hit, which was less than 10%. Many people were frightened and jumped off the cliff, but the stone balls smashed all the people on the mountain path to pieces. The Perak Army suffered losses from stone balls when they attacked Wanjiazhai before. Although Cao Ergou built parapets and dug trenches to protect the artillery, luckily no damage was caused, but it also frightened Ouyang Xuan and others into a cold sweat. . Although the Perak Army's stone ball attack did not kill many people this time, it also frightened the newly attached troops to the point where their faces turned pale and severely dampened their morale. You must know that the reason why the soldiers of the new attached army surrendered to Mongolia was mostly because they were greedy for life and afraid of death. Although Zhao Shicai promised that they could plunder any property after breaking the wall, in their view, although property was valuable, life was more important.
After the shock was over, Zhao Shicai ordered the troops to regroup. While ordering people to set up light trebuchets, he selected two hundred people to prepare for a tentative attack. Now he could see that the stone balls had smashed the soldiers' psychological shadow, and they began to be timid. If we don't attack in time now, the blow to morale will be even greater when the Perak Army shows up again.
The soldiers of the New Affiliated Army were shouting and howling wildly under Zhao Shicai's order, and when they were about to charge towards the gate of Wanjiazhai, a team of Perak Army quietly appeared in front of the gate of Wanjiazhai. This was Chen Hu's first company. . In huge contrast to the noisy new auxiliary army, this team of a hundred people remained silent. Under the command of Cao Ergou, they slowly pushed down the mountain with neat steps.
