It was late autumn and the temperature in Xiao Liang Mountain was pleasant. On and below the mountain, the colors of yellow and green mixed together and there were no signs of decay. The crowd had already flooded in from all over the mountains.
The vast army of a hundred thousand covered everything in sight. In the valleys, on the mountainsides, and between the foothills, armies were moving side by side, stretching for over ten miles. The scouts who were responsible for communication and planning the route, and the warriors sent out by the Mang Mountain Ni people were moving on the rugged roads, responding to the other armies nearby and adjusting the speed of each troop.
Due to the rugged terrain of Liang Mountain, once they entered the mountains, it was impossible for the hundred thousand army to maintain a unified formation. To be safe, Lu Qiaoshan planned carefully and divided the Wu Xiang army into six divisions. They slowed down and advanced in coordination. Every day, with the help of the scouts from Mang Shan, they planned the next day's route and target. While the infantry and cavalry were opening the way, the archers and artillerymen had to follow closely behind to prevent the formation from breaking up at any time. They had to advance to the northeast of Ji Shan District in the steadiest manner possible and start the battle.
Even though their speed was slow and their stance was conservative. When the hundred-thousand-strong army advanced, their banners swept across Liang Mountain like a forest. It was as if they were going to cleanse the ground. This scene gave the warriors of the Mang Mountain Tribe great confidence. The Wu Dynasty's prestige was not in vain. The situation in Liang Mountain, after the death of Hengqing tribe's Brute King Shi Meng, finally welcomed another turn for the better.
Brother Mang Shan, Lady Lian and Lu Qiaoshan immediately sent out messengers to persuade the other Ni tribes. These things were done in the first one or two days. Because after this, the Hua Xia army, which had been recuperating in Liang Mountain for several years even when the Mang Mountain Tribe had been wreaking havoc for a long time, finished assembling on the second day after Ning Yi returned to He Deng. Then, they charged towards the Wu Xiang army.
In the past few years, the three counties of He Deng had close to two hundred thousand people. Among them, there were close to sixty thousand soldiers. Excluding the elites who rushed to Xu Zhou and the troops stationed in the three counties, this time, there were a total of twenty-four thousand three hundred soldiers. Among them, about a quarter were veterans of the northwest war.
On the 26th day of the seventh month, black flags appeared in the Wu Xiang army's field of vision. Two hours later, the hot air balloon flew and the battle began.
The black flags attacked. The Wu Xiang army defended.
*****
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Orderly drumbeats could be heard coming from the foothills. Shadows of people spread out in front and behind the mountains of Mount Liang. Groups and groups of people were lined up in battle formations. In one's field of vision, it seemed as if they could extend to the other side of the sky.
There was a small outpost of the Hua Xia Army on the mountain. In recent years, it had been set up to protect the trade route, and a platoon of soldiers was stationed there. Now, with the Huaxia army's outpost as the center, the attacking troops arrived one after another. They gathered along the foothills, slopes, and valleys in formation. Most of the troops were in groups of hundreds, and some of the iron cannons had already been set up on the hilltop.
Mao Yishan was lecturing his comrade behind him in an unremarkable wasteland with short bushes at the foot of the mountain. This Wu Ruiying soldier who had grown up in Xia Village was now more than thirty years old. His eyes were steady and his body was like an iron tower. The skin on his hands was rough, and the space between his thumb and index finger was covered in calluses. These were the marks left behind by the training outside the battle formation and the killing inside the formation.
As a saber and shield soldier, he had been carrying a heavy shield and holding a steel saber all these years. Seven or eight years ago, in the great battle at Xuan Jia Ao in the northwest, he, Luo Ye, Hou Wu, Qu Qing, Zhuo Yongqing, and the others faced the insufferably arrogant Jurchen military god, Wanyan Loushi, and killed him. This was a great achievement. The five survivors of the great battle had experienced the baptism of blood in the Little Cang River for several years. Today, they had their own positions and positions in the Hua Xia Army. Mao Yishan was brave and reliable. He was suitable for the frontline, but he did not have outstanding leadership skills. Therefore, his promotion in the army was not fast. Today, he was leading a reinforced battalion of the Hua Xia Army's fifth division. There were a total of four hundred people, half of whom were veterans, and the rest were the remnants of the Western Army that had been trained in the cruel environment of the northwest.
For the time being, no one was able to discover the uniqueness of this battalion. Or perhaps, in the eyes of the Wu Xiang soldiers that covered the mountains and plains, the black flag in front of them was equally mysterious and terrifying.
"… I will say it again. After the first shot, we will start fighting. Our target is the North Xiufeng Ridge. There is no need to rush. We will stay one step behind and hide from the explosion along the side of the ditch. Once we cross that ditch, use all your strength to charge forward. The North Ridge is at the back, so there is no need to worry about the cannonballs on the road. If you encounter one, it is your bad luck. Company 1, Company 2, attack. Company 3, carry the cannonballs and dig the ditch. Company 4, defend the surroundings. Finally, the entire fifth division will gather at Xiufeng Ridge. There is no need to be afraid … "
Stretching out his disc-like palm, Mao Yishan slowly repeated the steps of the battle. Rather than saying that he was arranging the mission, it was more like he was reviewing the battle plan himself. When he finished, the commander of Company 2 said, "Boss, who is afraid?" He turned around and smiled. "If there is anyone who is afraid, say it first."
The drumming on the mountain was heavy and slow. Someone at the back knocked on the iron shield with a steel knife. "What a joke. There are not many people over there."
"There seems to be a hundred thousand."
"Hahahaha, that's a lot."
The group of people discussed this matter and laughed tacitly. Mao Yishan also grinned and then raised his hand. "Alright, don't joke around. Remember the mission well! It has been four years. We have been killing Jurzhens in the north. These fellows hiding in the south think we are pushovers. Little Cang River is gone, the northwest has been turned into a barren land. My brothers, your family, are left there … It is time … to let them know what a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood is … "
The last sentence was shouted from the deepest part of his throat. After he finished speaking, Mao Yishan's eyes were already slightly red. He turned around and looked at the Wu Xiang army.
The three years of war at Little Cang River had passed. Talking about it now seemed heroic. But the attack of the Jurzhens and the continuous bloody battles with the millions of soldiers, only those who had participated in it could understand how difficult it was.
The conflicts and guerrilla warfare in the mountains, the defense of Little Cang River and the subsequent breach of the dam, the bloody battles and the continuous battles in the northwest. What Mao Yishan could remember were the fallen figures around him, the blood on the battlefield and the hysterical roars. He had led the charge so many times that the steel saber in his hand had been scratched, the purlicue between his thumb and forefinger had been torn, and his body was covered in blood. He had been so tired that he was about to collapse in the pile of corpses any time. He had even struggled to climb out of the pile of rotting corpses and finally found the Hua Xia army. He had also experienced this before.
He closed his eyes and opened them again. What flowed before him was the hellish smell of blood and smoke. Behind him, after a series of orderly shouts, there was a murderous aura.
A hot air balloon rose in the sky. Mao Yishan waved his palm beside him and pulled out his steel knife.
"Let's go." He said.
It was already noon.
The black flag spread down the foothills and across the valley. Not long after, the sounds of arrows and cannons intersected. The black flag charged towards the Wu Xiang army. At the frontlines of Changqing Gorge, Great King Mountain, Xiufeng Pass and other places, they attacked at the same time.
At this time, the scale of the Hua Xia army that was exposed at the frontlines was initially less than ten thousand people. But to the Wu Xiang army that felt the attack of the Hua Xia army for the first time, even an attack of ten thousand people was a huge pressure on them. The first hot air balloon rose from the southwest and floated with the wind towards the Lu Qiao Mountain formation, dropping explosives along the way. A part of the Hua Xia army even launched an official attack in the direction of the Lu Qiao Mountain. The mutual bombardment of cannons broke up the tight formation that required the infantry. The terrain of Liang Mountain also caused the Wu Xiang infantry to lose the calmness of the formation on the plains. At this time, the Wu Xiang soldiers were surprised to find that the veterans of the Hua Xia army were actually not afraid of the whistling cannons. The cannons danced and exploded in the rugged mountains. The Hua Xia soldiers scattered and charged, using the terrain to hide. On a relatively wide terrain, the power of the cannons seemed powerful but it was actually limited against the scattered soldiers.
The Hua Xia soldiers that had charged near had a tacit understanding to gather at one point. At the same time, their own formation had already been scattered by the cannons that flew over. The infantry were not allowed to retreat. Under the orders of military law, they could only advance. The soldiers from both sides collided and were then forced open a chaotic opening by the other side.
In the first round of fighting, a small area of the artillery formation was charged by the Hua Xia army. Someone ignited the gunpowder and caused a shocking explosion.
The disadvantage that appeared on the frontlines at the first moment was a small problem that Wu Xiang army could make up for. The one that was truly shocked was the leader of the Mang Mountain tribe, Lang Ge, who had been urging them to fight at Lu Qiao Mountain. All along, the Mang Mountain Ni tribe had never seen the true power of the black flag. Even though he had been causing trouble in the mountains for a long time, the Hua Xia army had always maintained a restrained attitude and wanted to unite the Ni tribe to attack him. Therefore, when the mighty Wu Xiang army of a hundred thousand heard the black flag attack and suddenly started to maintain a defensive stance, Lang Ge still had some doubts.
Especially when the Black Flag army, which numbered no more than twenty thousand at most, had brazenly attacked the Wu Xiang army. He had once thought the other side had all gone mad.
"This is not their intention … prepare the Hou Yi crossbow and shoot down the balloons in the sky …" Lu Qiao Mountain, who was in command of the central army, maintained his rationality. He ordered the central army to press forward and use painstaking methods to resist the attacks of the Black Flag army. At the same time, he arranged for modified ballistae specially made to deal with hot air balloons to defend the sky. Over these years, under the support of the Crown Prince, the study of things had flourished in the Jiang Ning area. At the very least, it had not been too useless. In order to prevent hot air balloons from flying over the city walls and creating another tragedy of regicide, the modification of powerful ballistae for air defense was not without results.
At a quarter past noon, the initial intentions of the Hua Xia army were displayed in front of Lu Qiao Mountain.
Not even a quarter of an hour after the Hua Xia army's' all-out 'attack of less than ten thousand began, the true offensive power of the Black Flag army began to attack Xiufeng mountain pass. The battle line wildly extended, like a steel knife, heavily chopping in.
After looking at the map twice, only then did Lu Qiao Mountain slightly react. What appeared in front of him was a tactic that was arrogant to the point of almost insanity in the eyes of bystanders. Perhaps this was a tactic that truly belonged to the Black Flag Army.
Right now, the one hundred thousand Wu Xiang army could not avoid being divided into several groups within the Liang Mountain region. However, in order to avoid the Black Flag Army's separate attacks, Lu Qiao Mountain and the others also specially strengthened the coordination between the various divisions. The one hundred thousand army, at this time, extended northwest and southeast. Even though the scattered divisions each had a certain amount of time to coordinate, in theory, it was still a relatively complete entity.
Xiufeng mountain pass was a relatively smooth path connected by two small mountain ranges. It could be considered a dividing line within the army, but in the domain of 'common sense', this line did not have much meaning. It divided the entire army into two groups of three to seven. Even so, Lu Qiao Mountain's side had approximately seventy thousand people, while the other side of Xiufeng mountain pass also had thirty thousand people. Thirty thousand out of a hundred thousand people, that was still a completely organized army.
However … Lu Qiao Mountain thought of Ning Yi's attitude a few days ago.
"I beg you, give them a way out …"
"… It's war."
That simple attitude, turned into today's simple attack.
"Seize back Xiufeng mountain pass at all costs! Immediately send people over, have Chen Yuguang and the others hold on for me! Don't ask for contributions! Just hold on! "
Lu Qiao Mountain gave the order. Right now, the last section of Xiufeng mountain pass was still bitterly holding on. At the same time, in the mountains on the other side of Xiufeng mountain pass, in a place so far that one could even see it directly, the battle began.
The fifteen thousand Chinese army divided into three groups, rushing towards the thirty thousand people led by General Chen Yuguang and the others. The sound of cannons rang out continuously, explosions rising, shaking the mountains. Chen Yuguang and the other generals immediately adopted a defensive stance. At the same time, Lu Qiao Mountain led the troops under his command to fight over Xiufeng mountain pass, all of the cannons concentrated towards Xiufeng mountain pass. And on the high ground, the Chinese soldiers who charged up Xiufeng mountain also continuously dug trenches and arranged cannons according to the terrain.
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