The mighty Yuezhou soldiers marched out, shocking the entire Yuezhou.
Many Yuezhou people stared at the soldiers passing by them with wide eyes and disbelief.
This was the first time I had seen such a large-scale march. In the past, seeing thousands of soldiers was considered a spectacle.
As the Yuezhou soldiers set off, some news came. It was heard that this operation was an order from the new commander-in-chief Su Qi'an.
He wanted to completely end the war in Yuezhou with the determination to die. At first, the people of Yuezhou did not believe it.
But looking at such a huge army and the civilian men accompanying the army, everyone's faces were deeply shocked.
In their hearts, they all hope that the commander-in-chief can really do what he says. The war in Yuezhou has been going on for too long.
The pain they suffered cannot be experienced by outsiders. If the war was settled at one stroke, at least they would not be like now, hiding in fear all day long.
This time the troops were divided into three groups, except for Xie Cang who led the 10,000-strong Shanshan Army and went down the waterway of Shuixiang City.
The remaining 40,000 troops, led by Xiang Yan and Su Kang, each led 20,000 troops from the north and south, approaching the first and second counties where the pirates were holding firm.
With their current manpower, they are not willing to accept a sneak attack by pirates. After previous layers of consumption, there are now more than 20,000 pirates with combat effectiveness.
Moreover, they each occupy one or two counties, and their entrenched troops are scattered with more than 10,000 people. In terms of numbers, they have an advantage.
In terms of action, the same was true. The Yuezhou navy was defeated and the Yuezhou side was severely injured. The same was true for the pirates.
In order to decide the outcome and give one's side the advantage as much as possible, this break was originally supposed to take half a month, but now it was shortened by half by Su Qi'an.
In less than seven days, a large number of troops were assembled to launch a surprise attack on the pirates.
The effect of this massed counterattack was very obvious, and the pirates were obviously a little panicked.
They had dealt with Yuezhou soldiers before, and they had thousands of troops filling the front line. Even the most at one time would not exceed 10,000 people.
After every major battle, there is a rest period of more than half a month. It can be said that these pirates know how to deal with the Yuezhou soldiers.
But this time, even if the commander-in-chief was changed, even the fighting style suddenly changed.
A total of 50,000 troops, divided into three groups, were approaching them so fast that they had no time to rest.
The pirates were all shocked. Is this still the weak and incompetent Yuezhou soldier they knew?
They were shocked. After all, the pirates had experienced fighting with Yuezhou soldiers all year round. Under the arrangement of the leader, they quickly adjusted their tactics and launched a counterattack.
It only took less than a day for both sides to send troops and they had already met.
The first to fight were the 20,000 soldiers commanded by Su Kang. The moment they came into contact with the pirates, a battle broke out between the two sides.
But the war was not fierce, nor was it a fight to the death. It was considered a one-sided trend.
The number of pirates encountered this time was not very large, less than a thousand.
Su Kang's frontline soldiers already exceeded 2,000, not counting the steady stream of soldiers arriving from behind.
Therefore, this kind of battle can be regarded as a small-scale confrontation. The pirates are not stupid. After seeing that the situation is unfavorable, they quickly retreat.
When Su Kang's soldiers saw this, they naturally took the initiative to pursue him. They were not afraid of encountering any ambush.
Even with the strength they had, even if they encountered an ambush, it would be impossible to kill 20,000 of them.
It is precisely because of the continuous flow of troops from the rear that the soldiers on the front line are emboldened.
It was unimaginable before that they would take the initiative to pursue pirates.
In the past, after being able to drive away, they retreated into the city and passively defended themselves. I have experienced this kind of battle several times.
Even if some soldiers have the passion to take the initiative, they are eventually exhausted by reality.
Now, after finally having such an opportunity, how could they let it go? During the pursuit, the blood in their hearts that had gone cold gradually recovered.
Not long after Su Kang's detachment fought with the pirates, another group of soldiers led by Xiang Yan also encountered pirate attacks.
Like Su Kang and others, the number of pirates they encountered was not many, only a thousand.
Without any hesitation, the frontline soldiers launched an attack and defeated it in about a quarter of an hour.
The defeated pirates retreated hurriedly. Seeing this scene, the frontline soldiers wanted to beat up the drowned dog and did not miss this good opportunity.
But the pursuit was less than a mile away when Xiang Yan's military order stopped him.
"The frontline soldiers immediately returned to their ranks and advanced slowly at a constant speed."
The issuance of this military order was a bit frustrating to be honest, but after all, it was Xiang Yan who gave it. As the supreme commander of their army, his soldiers did not dare to disobey it.
They could only watch the defeated pirates disappear from their sight, and finally had no choice but to return to the team.
And Xiang Yan, who was in charge of the central army, was sitting in the carriage with his eyes slightly closed and his expression comfortable. Looking at the appearance, those who didn't know better thought that Xiang Yan was out for a relaxing trip.
Not long after Xiang Yan's military order was issued, a confidant official beside the carriage asked in a low voice.
"Sir, I'm a little confused about your order. With the 20,000 troops in our hands, even if we encounter any ambush, we can quickly join up with the frontline soldiers. Isn't it a pity that we miss the opportunity to beat the pirates and expand the results? Already."
This is not just his idea, it is basically the same idea among the military officials.
Although they were afraid of pirates, there was no reason not to eat the fruits of war that were delivered to them. It was a pity to give up like this.
Xiang Yan was sitting in the carriage, his eyes still closed, and his cold voice sounded after a while.
"Yes, it is indeed a pity to give up chasing the defeated pirates, but I ask you not to forget, who is the commander-in-chief of the Yuezhou war this time?"
"We can gain some military exploits by expanding our results here, but who will get the advantage? Do you, sir, want to see the Marquis of Dongshan pacify the Yuezhou war so smoothly that you can free up your hands and take off all your official hats? ?」
Xiang Yan's words made the confidant official who had spoken just now look startled and obviously a little scared.
They really didn't think about this matter, they always thought that Su Qi'an was just talking.
But now we see that if the war in Yuezhou is calmed down smoothly like Su Qian's command, they will be the unlucky ones next.
The confidant official nodded repeatedly to Xiang Yan and clasped his fists in gratitude, "I didn't think this through well. Thank you for reminding me, sir. What should we do next?"
"It's very simple. Tell the whole army to advance at a constant speed. I estimate that it will take up to half a day to reach the fourth county. At that time, I will tell you to go down and the whole army will rest in the fourth county."
"Don't Su Qi'an and Su Kang want to fight? Do they want to prove their strength? Then let them fight until they are both injured. Then it is time for us to attack."
The confidant official's eyes turned, and he understood instantly. He flattered Xiang Yan, "As expected of you, sir. It can achieve the final effect without any effort and weaken Su Kang's strength. This move is really good. My subordinates will do it now."
At Xiang Yan's nod, the confidant officials beside him quickly disappeared from the front with their legs wrapped around their horses.
Xiang Yan, who was sitting in the carriage, opened his eyes at this time, looked ahead with a bit of coldness, and murmured softly, "Humph, Su, don't think that as the commander-in-chief, you can really command your own officers. Come down here and let me show you what the strength of a local snake is."
As time passed, Xiang Yan's and Su Kang's soldiers and horses met the pirates. Both sides basically pushed forward, defeated the pirates, and were advancing towards the first and second counties in an orderly manner.
Xie Cang, who was going down the waterway to prevent pirates from sneaking around the waterway, spent half a day without seeing even a single pirate figure, let alone pirates.
It can be said that the journey down is quite smooth. If they continue like this, they will reach the second county faster than Su Kang.
According to Su Qi'an's plan, Xiang Yan led the way to attack the first county, Su Kang took the second county, and Xie Cang's Split Mountain
After confirming that the pirates did not raid from the waterway, the army will go north along the waterway, join Su Kang's army, and jointly attack the second county.
Among the two counties where the pirates are defending, the second county is the most difficult, not because of the number of pirates, but because of its city wall defense, which is much stronger than the first county.
What's more important is that there are many waterways in the second county, extending in all directions. If you react quickly, you can retreat as quickly as possible.
This was what Xie Cang was worried about, fearing that these pirates would grease their soles and run away, failing to complete the task of annihilating the pirates that Su Qi had settled on.
In order to complete the task, Xie Cang did not care so much and immediately ordered to continue down the river as quickly as possible. If there was no ambush, he would rush to the second county immediately.
No matter what, we can't let the second county pirates escape.
Under Xie Cang's order, the Splitting Mountain Army accelerated its progress and spent an hour and a half searching the entire area around the waterway after confirming that there was no ambush.
He immediately changed direction and headed north towards the second county.
The second county seat is not very far away from them. With the foot power of the Splitting Mountain Army, it only takes half an hour at most to reach it.
The Split Mountain Army, which galloped all the way, hurriedly and slowly, finally arrived at the second county town.
Just as Xie Cang thought, they arrived first. Xie Cang immediately gave the order and sent out forwards to test the attack.
No matter what, the pirates in the second county must be held back, and the forward troops of the Splitting Mountain Army quickly attacked.
The imaginary arrows shooting from above did not appear, and there was not even an intention to fight back.
Seeing that the forward troops were gradually approaching the second county city, there was no movement in the county city. Xie Cang frowned, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
About a quarter of an hour later, Xie Cang watched helplessly as the forward troops entered the city unscathed.
At this time, Xie Cang's face was gloomy. He could probably guess something, but he didn't take any action. He held the horse rope tightly with both hands, holding on to the last trace of fantasy.
The forward troops entering the city came quickly on horseback after a while.
Reporting to Xie Cang, "Master Marquis, after our investigation, there are no traces of pirates in the second county. In other words, the second county is an empty city, and the pirates have probably escaped."
