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"How many reinforcements have been sent?" The deputy general pulled the messenger over and asked urgently.
Jiang Yingzhao, who was next to him, looked at the person who sent the message, with worry in his eyes.
"There are over 10,000 troops, most of them cavalry," said the messenger.
The person who sent back the news did not know that the dragoons were a quick reaction force. He just saw a lot of mules and horses and thought they were cavalry in a large group.
After hearing this number, Jiang Yingzhao staggered back two steps, his head buzzing.
Over 10,000 thieves rode to rescue Yongning City, and he began to worry about the safety of Man Gui and his 20,000-strong army.
"General, should we rush to Yongning City immediately?" the deputy general asked Xiang Jiang in response to the imperial edict.
He also thought about the safety of Mangui and the 20,000 imperial troops.
Jiang Yingzhao wriggled his lips twice, and finally said: "It's too late. No matter how fast we are, we can't be faster than the cavalry. We can only hope that Man Gui and the others can stop the over 10,000 thieves."
He said this, but in his heart he was not optimistic at all.
Although Mangui brought 20,000 officers and soldiers to besiege Yongning City, which was more than the number of thieves and cavalry who came to help, there were only a small number of cavalry among the 20,000 officers and soldiers, and most of them were infantry.
Infantry is inherently at a disadvantage when facing cavalry. A few dozen cavalry can easily kill an infantry team of several hundred people.
"You really don't care about General Mangui anymore?" the deputy general asked hesitantly.
The 20,000 infantrymen left outside Yongning City had no reinforcements to rescue them, so one can imagine their fate.
Jiang Yingzhao suddenly turned around and glared at him, saying: "I have already said it, but it is already too late. You still don't understand what I said."
"I don't dare." The deputy general quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
Jiang Yingzhao withdrew his gaze and turned to the ordering soldier on the side: "Send the order and the army will set off immediately."
The messenger ran to deliver the order.
"Where are you going, general?" the deputy general asked.
Jiang Yingzhao said coldly: "Go and suppress the bandits. If the bandits don't come, we will take the initiative. Since they dare to divide their troops to rescue Yongning City, we will lead the troops to eat the bandits in front of us."
"Waiting for the traitors to come over on their own initiative?" The deputy general didn't expect Jiang Ying to order Hu to give up the ambush he had been preparing for so long.
Jiang Yingzhao glanced at his lieutenant and said: "Once there is a problem at Mangui, the bandit cavalry in Yongning City is likely to come around from the rear. If they wait any longer, they will only be attacked from the front and rear by the bandit soldiers. I will take down the main force of the thieves in front of me before the thieves cavalry arrive."
Although he believed that it was impossible for Man Gui to capture Yongning City and might even be defeated, he believed that even if the 20,000 troops brought by Man Gui were defeated, they could still delay the bandit cavalry under Yongning City for a while.
As long as Man Gui could delay the bandits for a while, he would be sure to capture the main force of the bandits a few miles ahead in advance.
As long as he can defeat the main force of the thieves, even if all the 20,000 troops brought by Man Gui are annihilated, he can still give an explanation to the enemy and will not bear the responsibility for Man Gui's defeat.
After receiving the order, the tens of thousands of troops lying in ambush on the mountain raised their flags one after another and began to actively move forward to find the main force of the thieves to fight.
The first ones sent out were sentinels.
Teams of sentinels, as the outposts of the army, entered the battlefield in advance.
At the same time, the sentries of the First War Division were also surrounding their own army, always paying attention to the movements of the army ambushing in the mountains.
As soon as the officer's sentinel appeared, the sentinel from the First Combat Division mounted his horse to greet him.
The scouts competed with each other.
The sentinels of the official army mainly wear cotton armor. In addition to necessary weapons, long-range attacks mainly rely on bows and arrows. The sentinels of the Tiger Flag all wear half breastplates. In addition to sabers, each one is equipped with a cavalry. Gun and a handgun.
The war horses on both sides are mainly Mongolian horses.
When the two sides fought, the armor on their bodies played a decisive role.
The sentinels of the army shot at them one after another, and rarely could they kill the sentinels of the 1st Combat Division protected by their breastplates with one arrow. Perfect person.
Fortunately, the cavalry muskets were not as accurate as bows and arrows, and the two sides were able to kill each other fairly smoothly.
As the sentries on both sides came closer, the accuracy of the cavalry guns became stronger and stronger, and the advantage of bows and arrows gradually disappeared. The number of casualties among the officers and soldiers increased, and finally they could no longer bear it and began to flee to the rear.
The sentry cavalry of the 1st War Troop Division stopped pursuing after chasing for a certain distance, and continued to roam around, monitoring the movements of the army's troops.
"Report!" A flying cavalry galloped from a distance and appeared in front of Chen Xunping. "Report to the division. We have discovered the movement of the army ahead and are approaching the place where our army is resting."
"Explore again!" Chen Xunping said to Fei Qi.
The flying knight turned around and rode away.
Chen Xunping stood up and said to Qin Rong, the staff officer on the side: "The officers and soldiers ambushing in the mountains finally couldn't bear it any longer and began to actively look for fighters."
"Whoever sees the fat around his mouth will feel uncomfortable if he can't eat it." Qin Rong said with a smile.
Chen Xunping smiled and said: "I think the general of the army in front of me received the news of our dragoons rescuing Yongning City. He knew that if he were to ambush, we would make dumplings for him, so I am more patient than him."
"Wu Shizheng and the Dragoon Division arrived too timely. Otherwise, in order to save Yongning City, we would have to force our way into the opponent's ambush location." Qin Rong felt very good after knowing the news that the officers and soldiers had taken the initiative to attack.
The officers and soldiers lying in ambush on the mountain gave up their advantage and chose to fight them, thus losing the opportunity.
Chen Xunping looked at the ordering soldier on the side and said: "Go down with the order, form a formation on the spot, and prepare to meet the enemy. We will wait for the officers and soldiers to come over."
The messenger ran to deliver the order.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
War drums beat.
The whole army moved, and the artillery team was the first to move.
The cannon, which was the main attack weapon, was pushed to the front of the formation and set up in a formation. All the soldiers from each battalion gathered behind the formation and formed square formations.
The sound of war drums spread far away and fell into the ears of the officers and soldiers.
"General, it seems that the bandits have discovered us." The deputy general who was following Jiang Yingzhao on horseback said.
Jiang Yingzhao looked at the sentry returning from time to time in front, snorted and said: "I have never thought of concealing the whereabouts of the army. Now that the thieves have no city wall to rely on, let's see how I can defeat this bandit. Soldiers."
In terms of military strength, he has an advantage over the thieves.
Moreover, the Guan Ning soldiers and horses he brought had just defeated an army of 130,000 slave thieves, and now they were facing a group of thieves, and their morale was at its peak.
The lieutenant who was riding next to him said nothing about being cautious.
In his opinion, defeating the bandits is a normal thing. Even if the ambush fails and the bandits need to be fought head-on, he does not feel that his side will be defeated.
"Speed up the march." The deputy general ordered the army to speed up the march.
Although the main force of the thieves in front does not pose much threat to them, there is an army of tens of thousands of thieves in Yongning City. This thieves cavalry and the main force of the thieves in front can still threaten them.
