On the eighth day of August, the Guanzhong Plain, which has always been dry and drier, suddenly experienced a heavy rain without warning.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, like thick ink hanging from the sky, and it was so dark that no light could be seen. Only rolling thunder could be heard in the sky, but there was no trace of lightning. Strong winds mixed with water vapor swept in one after another, making the flags flutter.
The scouts reported that the main Turkic force was less than twenty miles away from the Weinan battlefield!
Just two days ago, the Gale First Army took the initiative to withdraw from the blocking position in accordance with the order of the headquarters, and let Luonia's troops enter Huazhou Prefecture.
Only one day later, nearly 200,000 Golden Clan cavalry troops left Huazhou and continued to gallop towards the imperial capital.
They had to be impatient, because Li Jiangyao had already begun to storm the imperial capital!
Of course, all this is just an illusion.
The only ones attacking the Imperial City were Holia's Third Army and part of the Eighth Army, the real main force of the Xinjiang Army. At this time, they were waiting for the Turkic cavalry in the outer trenches of the Weinan battlefield.
Li Jiangyao was fully armored, sitting on a war horse, with his white cloak raised high behind him, as if the God of War had come to the world. He looked up at the gloomy sky and couldn't help but laugh loudly: "Heaven protects the Holy Tang! When the heavy rain comes, the cavalry and horses will be seriously affected, the Wei River will also surge, and the Turks will be doomed!"
Xu Youchang on the side had a serious expression, but his tone was very relaxed: "After waiting for so many years, I finally waited for this day. I wonder if Ronya will think of Crescent Bay back then?"
Li Jiangyao turned to look at his good brother: "I can guarantee that when 200,000 Turkic cavalry are trapped in the heavy rain with nowhere to escape, he will definitely think of it!"
At this time, Jigriz strode forward and gave a military salute: "Defender, Commander Xu, our army is ready!"
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly and said: "The Nulang Sixth Army is deployed at the westernmost end of the pocket formation to allow the Turkic cavalry to break into the depths of the position and be completely surrounded by our army. Your Nulang Army is the first checkpoint and also At the last hurdle, whether you can win this battle depends on whether you, Jigriz, have the ability to block Ronya’s progress!”
"Please rest assured, Protector!" Jigriz roared angrily: "The Sixth Army is your personal guard and the first heavy armored infantry army in the entire Zhenjiang Army! Our feet have already taken root on the position! Unless all of them are killed, no Turk will be allowed to cross our defense lines!"
Xu Youchang said in a deep voice: "Behind you is the Fifth Army. The Imperial Guard has given the most arduous task of blocking to you, a pair of brother legions born during the training period in the Yarumqi Mountains. This is their absolute trust in you, and also The supreme glory of our soldiers! Go and fight bravely, our army will win!"
Jigriz drew his long sword: "Our army will win!"
After he strode away, the commander of the Seventh Army also came closer. Their mission was to block the Turks' retreat.
Just like blocking the front road, the action of blocking the back road will also directly determine whether this dragnet encirclement battle can succeed.
According to Li Jiangyao's arrangement, the Seventh Army was the main force, supplemented by part of the Eighth Army. They were ambushed and hidden in the trench at the easternmost end of the pocket formation in advance. When the Turkic army passed, they immediately showed up to set up defenses.
As long as the east and west ends of the pocket array were firmly entrenched, with the surging Wei River to the north and criss-crossing trenches to the south, the Turks would be completely trapped within a thirty-mile radius and unable to escape.
Rumble——
A burst of muffled thunder came from far away, and huge raindrops poured down from the sky in the roaring wind, filling the entire Weinan Plain in an instant.
The main Turkic force is ten miles away!
The main Turkic force is five miles away!
Turkic soldiers and horses have entered the Seventh Army's field of vision!
All the Turkic Pioneer Divisions have reached the core area!
Following the scout's report, countless cavalry figures gradually appeared in the rain.
The heavy rain and muddy roads did not hinder the progress of the Turkic cavalry regiment at all. The huge sound of horse hooves even completely drowned out the sound of rain and thunder!
Soon, the Turks discovered the Sixth Army blocking the way forward. Four thousand-strong armored phalanxes lay on both sides of the Chi Road, like silent mountains.
And behind them, there are countless dense jungles of swords and guns that can't be seen at a glance.
Enemies are extremely jealous when they see each other.
The vanguard of the Golden Clan did not need to ask the Temple Prince for instructions, and decided to launch a group charge on the spot.
They believed that the reason why the Zhenjiang Army set up defense lines and implemented interceptions here was to prevent the main Turkic forces from rushing to aid the imperial capital. And their great khan, Ashina Zhijin, was waiting in front for his warriors to arrive.
"Gasluo!"
The sound of killing resounded throughout the entire cavalry team, and the Turkic vanguard attacked the heavy armored infantry desperately.
However, what the Turks did not expect was that the mountain-like infantry phalanx were really mountains that could not be shaken!
The four large formations of the Nulang Sixth Army were stuck at the narrowest distance between the Wei River and the trenches, tightly blocking the entire westward road. Tens of thousands of iron oar shields, as tall as a man, were pressed together tightly to form a giant curtain wall. Behind the shield wall, there are layers of heavily armored "iron men", with the back row supporting the front row, and the front row supporting those further in front, so solid that they seem to be fused together.
In such a position, let alone a cavalry collision, even if it is exploded with kerosene bombs, it may not be able to explode!
The Turkic forward was blocked at the westernmost end of the pocket formation, while the main force behind was still advancing rapidly. In less than an hour, most of the Turkic soldiers and horses had entered the core area of the pocket formation. The Seventh Army and Eighth Army hiding behind them immediately began to quietly set up defenses and seal the entrance.
Until this time, the commander-in-chief of the Turkic army finally smelled the smell of conspiracy.
In the pouring rain, Prince Ronia of the Temple, who was already soaked to the skin, ordered his men to quickly divide their troops and attack the Xinjiang Army blocking the way. However, his men quickly came back and reported: There will be no way!
There are deep ditches and ravines everywhere in the wilderness, making it impossible for cavalry to pass.
"Damn it! Are we surrounded by people on the plain?!" Old Marshal He Lianxiong cursed in disbelief: "How did the other party do it?"
Ronya couldn't answer this question. He could only order the troops in front to continue to attack the Sixth Army while spreading his hands to investigate everywhere.
Soon, the people who went to explore the road returned one after another, and the news they brought further confirmed the old marshal's statement:
The two hundred thousand Turkic army was indeed surrounded by the opponent in the plains.
When they heard that a large area in the south was covered with trenches, and that the armored phalanx of the Xinjiang Army had appeared in the direction they came from in the east, Ronya and a group of Turkic generals truly realized the seriousness of the problem.
When the Turks fought against the Shengtang, they were not afraid of the Shengtang people playing tricks. What they were afraid of was that the other side could not only play tricks, but they could actually fight!
In the face of absolute strength, any strategy is useless, but when the opponent is stronger than you, any strategy may be fatal.
Ronya forced herself to calm down, roughly analyzed the situation at hand, and then made an accurate judgment: Li Jiangyao should have dispatched more than 80% of the Zhenjiang Army's troops and wanted to eat them in one bite!
If this is the case, then in addition to the enemy troops on both sides, there must be more people who have not yet appeared, and the total number of opponents involved in this battle will be close to 400,000!
He Lianxiong wiped the rain off his face and shouted: "Don't be afraid of 400,000! We are cavalry and fight in the plains. Even if the enemy's strength is doubled, it will be useless!"
Ronya was obviously not as optimistic as he was: "The Zhenjiang Army is not an ordinary Shengtang Army. In addition, the current terrain and weather are very unfavorable to us, and the situation may be worse."
"Then what do you think we should do?" He Lianxiong asked, "Stay where you are and wait for the rain to stop?"
Ronya wanted to look up at the sky with heavy rain, but she didn't expect that her eyes were completely unable to open due to the rain. He said solemnly: "With this amount of rain, it won't stop within a day or two! Besides, we don't carry much rations with us. If the time is delayed for a long time, the morale of the army will be shaken! The question now is, should we start from now on?" In which direction does it protrude?"
He Lianxiong understood what he meant. He first glanced at the drowned Turk generals around him, and then said: "There is a big river in the north, so don't think about it. The south side was dug into pieces by that little bastard Li Jiangyao, so I don't even want to leave. There is a way. Now there are only two choices left: East or West, what do you think?"
Ronya thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Of course I would rather rush to the west so that I can escort the Great Khan, but..."
Seeing that he stopped and didn't say anything further, He Lianxiong asked curiously: "But what? Are you worried that Li Jiangyao will arrange more troops in the west?"
"More troops are the next best thing," Ronya said with lingering fear: "I'm worried that he has other tricks up his sleeve. Li Jiangyao had calculated that we were going to the imperial capital, so he could pull off such an exaggerated stunt in this place in advance. A big battle. If we continue to focus on rushing towards the imperial capital, there is no guarantee that he will not have a back-up move."
He Lianxiong shook his head: "So what if there is a backup plan? If we don't join forces with the Khan as soon as possible, all of us will be doomed! I'm telling you, Ronya, you must not waver at this time, the only option is to fight to the death Only then do you have a chance to survive!”
Although the old marshal's words made sense, Ronya was still very hesitant. He was stunned in the heavy rain, and the sound of fierce fighting in the distance kept coming to his ears. After a while, he suddenly said: "How about this, let's split up. Old Marshal, I will personally lead the troops to attack the western position. Once you succeed, lead everyone straight to the imperial capital and rush to the aid of the Great Khan. You command the other half of the troops to turn around and fight back, trying to open up the road behind you. If you can break out of the encirclement of the Zhenjiang Army, you can go south to Lantian County. Make a big detour to get to the Imperial Capital!"
