Under the bright sun, a huge team was marching on the road.
This is the eastward marching legion of the Zhenjiang Army. It consists of the Gale First Army, the Nulang Sixth Army, and the Kuangsha Ninth Army, with a total strength of 150,000.
The commander-in-chief of this team is Xu Youchang, one of the founders of the Zhenjiang Army and deputy governor.
His target was Luzhou, the rear area of Huaiyang King Li Kuang.
After the Zhenjiang Army and the Suzaku Army recaptured the cities in the north of the Yangtze River without any bloodshed, Li Jiangyao entrusted Xu Youchang to personally lead the team to attack the flanks of the Huaiyang Army, and cooperated with Murong Xue on the front battlefield to encircle and suppress Li Kuang.
At this time, the 200,000 troops of the Qinglong Army and the Xuanwu Army are fighting fiercely with the Huaiyang Army in the Bozhou, Huaibei, Xuzhou, and Suzhou areas. The two sides have been attacking each other for more than a month, and each has its own victory or defeat.
In order to resist the imperial troops, most of the Huaiyang King's troops were pushed to the northern front line, leaving the city behind extremely empty.
Originally, Li Kuang believed that the Central Plains area occupied by Lao Jianhua could effectively contain the Zhenjiang Army and other troops, which was equivalent to essentially covering his flanks and rear, so he was not worried about placing his troops in the north to fight Murong Xue.
However, unexpectedly, Li Jiangyao resorted to counter-intuitive tactics and drove Bao Yuchun across the river while talking and laughing, suddenly exposing Luzhou and other strategic locations to the Xinjiang Army.
It was under this background that Xu Youchang led the main forces of the three armies to attack the deep hinterland of the Huaiyang Army.
However, Xu Youchang did not know at this time that Bao Yuchun was not willing to suffer a hidden loss, but secretly contacted Li Kuang and secretly mobilized nearly 100,000 troops to come along the river, waiting in advance on the only way for the Zhenjiang Army.
The shortest journey from Suizhou to Luzhou is through Dawu County and Shangcheng County. A straight road connects the two states. Between Dawu County and Shangcheng County, there are two mountain ranges, Tiantai Mountain and Jinlan Mountain, with high peaks and dense forests, which are very suitable for setting up ambush positions.
Bao Yuchun's soldiers and horses were ambushed in Jinlan Mountain in the northeast and Tiantai Mountain in the southwest. The two positions were more than thirty miles apart, sandwiching the east-west Chidao.
According to Bao Yuchun's idea, when Xu Youchang's main force arrived here, the ambush troops did not move. When most of the Zhenjiang Army passed the ambush zone and met the Huaiyang Army who came to intercept them on the road east of Jinlan Mountain, he Then suddenly broke out and attacked Xu Youchang's rearguard.
Although the opponent has an army of 150,000 and is a strong force capable of conquering and fighting, facing the complex mountainous terrain and an unexpected ambush, it is inevitable that the position will be in chaos. At the same time, in order to protect his home base in the rear, King Li Kuang of Huaiyang had also assembled all the garrison troops from the counties near Luzhou. With them restraining Xu Youchang head-on, the Suppression Army would inevitably be unable to look after each other.
Therefore, as long as the opportunity is grasped well, even if Xu Youchang's troops cannot be completely annihilated, there is no problem in severely damaging three of his armies.
However, unexpectedly, just when Xu Youchang's troops passed by Dawu County and were less than fifty miles away from Tiantai Mountain, the entire army suddenly stopped.
The scene of ambushing the Suzaku Legion in Jiufeng Mountain a while ago has happened again!
Bao Yuchun, who personally went to Tiantai Mountain to take command, felt that his scalp was numb after hearing the report from his subordinates: Damn it, did the other party know about it in advance again?
His guess was correct, Xu Youchang did know.
Not long after the eastward marching troops left Dawu County, they were overtaken by Pegasus couriers galloping from Xiangcheng. They promptly reported the latest news from the Zhenjiang Army Intelligence Department: the main force of the enemy navy rushed to the lower reaches of the river and was already in Ezhou. After landing, it is very possible to secretly go north and set up an ambush in the Tiantai Mountain area. The Protector General reminded Xu Shuai to take precautions and avoid being ambushed by the enemy!
Xu Youchang looked at the emergency military report in his hand, and then at the vague, undulating mountain shadows on the distant horizon, with a confident smile on his face.
"Commander Bao, since you are willing to give me some advice, you will be welcome, my friend."
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The Zhenjiang Army, which was on the defensive, soon sent out elite scouts to carefully survey and search Tiantai Mountain and Jinlan Mountain in two directions: north and south.
A hundred thousand troops were hiding in the jungle. No matter how hidden they were, they would still be unable to avoid the roar of men and horses. For spies conducting specialized reconnaissance, it is easy to spot the traces of an ambush.
Even the Huaiyang garrison waiting five miles east of Jinlan Mountain was clearly touched by the scouts.
Xu Youchangxin called just in time and immediately issued the order:
All officers and men of the Sixth Army withdrew their heavy armor and launched a multi-pronged attack in battalion units to search and attack Tiantai Mountain. Once you encounter an enemy, you don't need to ask for instructions, just start fighting on the spot!
The Ninth Army was deployed near Chidao to the west of Tiantai Mountain, responsible for blocking enemy troops coming from the direction of Jinlan Mountain and intending to reinforce Tiantai Mountain.
The First Army immediately dispatched, detoured eastward from the southern foot of Tiantai Mountain, attacked the Huaiyang local garrison east of Jinlan Mountain, defeated them in one fell swoop, then turned back and attacked or pursued Bao Yuchun's ambush.
The military order was issued and the three armies moved together.
One hundred and fifty thousand soldiers wearing dark blue Zhenjiang military uniforms, either galloping on horseback or walking on foot, fought towards their targets.
Bao Yuchun, who was halfway up Tiantai Mountain, heard that the Zhenjiang Army suddenly moved again, and that it was no longer in the same marching formation as before, but in a multi-pronged attack posture. He suddenly screamed in his heart: Xu Youchang is here. The place suddenly launched an offensive posture. Needless to say, it was obvious that they were coming for me!
The ambush battle has been transformed into a defensive battle. Should we fight this battle or not? Suddenly it became a difficult problem for Bao Yuchun to make an immediate choice.
Although he has never actually fought against the Zhenjiang Army, he can beat the Turkic Golden Tribe until they crawl on the ground. It doesn't take much thought to know how powerful the Zhenjiang Army is. If he had the Black Armor Army at hand, Bao Yuchun would still have the courage to fight, but now he only has the Navy Army's light armor.
It's okay to ambush from behind, but attack from the front? forget it.
The so-called famous generals are not just about how awesome they are in fighting and how ferocious they are in charging.
More often, it depends on whether you can make the right choice.
The so-called victory can also be interpreted as "a hero does not suffer immediate losses."
As a famous Shengtang general, Bao Yuchun certainly knew that a good man should not suffer the immediate losses. When Xu Youchang made a move, he immediately reacted.
The ambush battle has been ruined. If you don't leave this place quickly, there will be a backlash!
Hurry up and withdraw your troops to the south!
The sound of the trumpet spread throughout Tiantai Mountain, and soon after, the echoing sound of the trumpet also sounded from Jinlan Mountain. Nearly 100,000 navy light-armored infantry appeared from the forest, threw their legs and ran as fast as they could, moving quickly towards the south.
Fortunately, Bao Yuchun reacted quickly and was already prepared to "evacuate south immediately if the situation goes bad." Therefore, before the Sixth Army and the Ninth Army rushed up, all the naval forces moved to a safe area, and they were within a hair's breadth. Avoided Xu Youchang's counterattack.
In contrast, the Huaiyang Army was not so lucky.
According to the plan negotiated in advance, Li Kuang's general Cui Zhi assembled the garrison troops from the cities in the rear, about 50,000 to 60,000 troops, and squatted on the Chidao east of Jinlan Mountain, waiting to cooperate with Bao Yuchun to attack Zhenjiang from front to back. military.
But I didn't expect that Bao Yuchun didn't follow martial ethics and didn't bother to notify Cui Zhi when he ran away. Therefore, this second-rate unit of the Huaiyang Army had no idea what was happening on the Tiantai Mountains, and it did not retreat in time to return to a safe area.
More than 50,000 people just kept looking longingly to the west, eagerly anticipating the coming ambush battle.
Unexpectedly, the ambush battle did not come, but the First Army of Gale Wind came.
Moreover, it came from behind!
Fifty thousand armored cavalry swept in like a tsunami. The Turks were frightened when they saw it, let alone the garrison who had never fought a tough battle.
Cui Zhi and his men were stunned on the spot by the black cavalry, which was so thick that they couldn't even see the side. Their fighting spirit was so high and their killing noises were deafening.
They couldn't form a formation to resist, and they couldn't turn around and run away. The only thing they could do was to wait for death.
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry of the Zhenjiang Army rushed into the Huaiyang garrison formation. These warriors, who were excited at the sight of blood, rushed left and right in the enemy group, as if they were in an uninhabited land.
That kind of relaxed and casual state doesn't feel like fighting at all, but like hunting.
It's no wonder that such a weak and sparse opponent is no different from a gentle lamb and rabbit to the First Army who fought out of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood.
The "hunting" lasted less than half an hour before the Huaiyang army completely collapsed, leaving only a chaotic chase across the mountains and plains.
Before the war started, Xu Youchang specifically said: The rebels cannot have a king come to redeem people with money like in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang, so there is no need to consider the issue of prisoners, they can kill them all!
Shengtang's attitude towards traitors has always been this way.
In the evening, Xu Youchang led the Sixth Army and the Ninth Army to arrive here. The battle was already over. Fifty thousand Huaiyang garrison were killed, leaving corpses strewn across the field and rivers of blood. Only about 800 people managed to escape, and the rest of the army was wiped out.
The First Army only lost less than a thousand troops.
"Shuai Xu, please tell me what we should do next." The generals looked like they were still unfinished and came over to ask.
Xu Youchang looked at the sky and asked loudly: "Are you afraid of hard work?"
"Don't be afraid! When have we, the Xinjiang Army, ever been afraid of hardship?"
"Well, just don't be afraid of hard work!" Xu Youchang laughed: "The troops in the rear of the Huaiyang Army were already very empty. Now they have actively gathered together to die, and they have been completely exhausted by your unreasonable killings. Now, the empty city of Luzhou is at your fingertips! I ordered the entire army to march overnight. The First Army is responsible for seizing Luzhou City, the Sixth Army is responsible for seizing Feidong and Feixi, and the Ninth Army is responsible for Lu'an, Shangcheng, Shucheng and other counties. "
"Before noon tomorrow, in the rear area where I want to rebel against King Li Kuang, the eagle flags of the Xinjiang Army will be flying everywhere!"
