reax;
Within the Gourd Valley tent, Ang Lee patiently listened to Nan Jiyun's report. He held a brush in his hand and sketched out the terrain of the bandit's lair, as well as the deployment of the bandit's forces.
"Done."
Li An held the paper in his hand and blew on it casually. Then, he began to think carefully.
"Big Brother, we've discovered the bandit's lair. They only have around 200 people. With our military strength, eliminating them will be a piece of cake."
"General, I've seen that the soldiers have been well trained. They're all farmers after all. Their combat strength isn't any weaker than the Dragon Martial Army's. Attacking the bandit's lair will be a complete victory."
The corner of Li An's mouth curled into a faint smile. What the general said was true. There were more than 3,000 soldiers and only 200 bandits. A complete victory was inevitable. If they could still lose, then all the generals under Li An should just jump into the river and jump into it.
There was no difficulty in winning the battle, but Li An had a higher goal, and that was to have zero casualties. He wanted the army to annihilate the bandits with zero casualties. Only then could the army demonstrate its valiant strength and arouse the soldiers' passion for battle.
If they wanted to achieve this strategic goal, they had to make sufficient preparations. They had to launch a sudden attack when the bandits were unprepared and easily annihilate the bandits.
Nan Jiyun had already investigated the situation of the bandit's lair. Although the situation inside the lair wasn't clear, the bandits thought that their lair was deep in the mountains and wouldn't be discovered. The defense inside the lair wouldn't be too tight either.
"This raid on the bandit's lair is actual combat training. Do you know what actual combat training is?"
Ang Lee looked at each of the generals seriously.
"General, raiding the bandit's lair is war. Actual combat training is just a different word."
Ang Lee frowned and corrected, "Although it's just a different word, the effect is different. Deaths are inevitable in war. How many people will die in training? This raid on the bandit's lair is actual combat training. Not a single soldier is allowed to die. Do you understand?"
"No one is allowed to die. This is too difficult. Swords have no eyes. There must be experts among the bandits. It is normal for a few soldiers to die."
"The general is benevolent, but since ancient times, there has never been a war without casualties. The sacrifice of soldiers is unavoidable."
Ang Lee was dissatisfied and corrected him, "This general has already said that this is actual combat training, not a war. Casualties are not allowed. Also, who said that people must die in a war? Back then, during the Battle of Yuzhou, this general led a hundred soldiers back and forth and killed nearly a thousand Japanese soldiers. Our army did not suffer any casualties. Why can't we do it now?"
All the generals were speechless. They lowered their heads and didn't say anything.
Ang Lee looked at the generals who had objections and said, "This raid on the bandits' lair is to train the army. You guys don't need to go. All of the Dragon Martial Army soldiers will remain at Gourd Cave. Kun Xiong, Fei Yu, and I will lead the troops over."
"General, I am willing to take the lead."
Nan Jiyun loudly requested.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good. Nan Jiyun, you will take the lead. However, you must remember that the scouting team cannot be left behind. If even a single person is missing, this general will not forgive you."
"General, rest assured. If the scouting team is missing a person, it will be Nan Jiyun."
Nan Jiyun confidently declared.
Ang Lee's expression became even more satisfied. He began to assign tasks to Nan Jiyun. He also gathered the other newly appointed generals and gave them their tasks.
Due to the requirement of zero casualties, the army had to launch a surprise attack when the bandits were unprepared. For this reason, the attack was chosen to be at night.
Because there weren't many bandits, Ang Lee didn't plan to use too many troops. He only mobilized the two scouting teams of the Special Forces as the vanguard. In addition, he mobilized two battle regiments as the main force. The supply regiment used a small number of troops to provide protection.
The total strength of the two scouting teams was 130 people, while the two battle regiments had as many as 700 soldiers. Their total strength was four times that of the bandits', which was more than enough to deal with them. Of course, if they wanted to have zero casualties, the difficulty would be slightly higher. After all, the soldiers had only been training for half a month, and they were not elites who had been through hundreds of battles. The soldiers had not killed anyone before, so it was unknown whether they would suddenly become stupid during battle, whether they could maintain their discipline during training, and whether there would be deserters. These were all unknown, and could only be revealed through this battle. This was also the main reason why Li An wanted to fight this battle. Only through actual combat could the soldiers learn how to fight.
Although Ang Lee had promised during the recruitment that there wouldn't be any battles within the next three months, the reason given this time was actual combat training. Although the recruits felt that it was the same meaning, it was indeed the training slogan. Moreover, the commanding officer had said that in this actual combat training, all the soldiers had to be alive. They were in groups of five or ten. They were not allowed to abandon their comrades. If someone in a group died, the entire group would be punished. If they killed a bandit, the entire group would be rewarded.
The strength of the bandits was two hundred men, while the new recruits had more than eight hundred. The advantage of having four times the number of soldiers made the new recruits full of confidence, thinking that they would definitely win this battle. Naturally, they would not raise any objections.
In order to recover enough energy to eliminate the bandits, the soldiers started to rest at noon. When the sky turned dark, they woke up to the smell of food. After eating and drinking to their fill, they quickly gathered and waited for Ang Lee's orders.
"General, the scouting team, the first and second battle regiments, and the first battle regiment of the supply regiment have all been assembled."
Ang Lee wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and strode towards the assembled troops.
Close to a thousand soldiers, holding weapons, were lined up neatly. They looked quite mighty, which made Ang Lee feel quite satisfied.
Li An cleared his throat and said loudly, "Soldiers, tonight is the first actual combat training for our army. Some of you may think that actual combat training is a war, but I'll tell you that actual combat training is not only a war, but also a requirement. All soldiers must return in one piece. Tonight, I will personally lead the troops, and all soldiers must obey my orders. If any of you disobey, you will be severely punished."
"Roar roar roar"
"The scouting team will immediately set off. The battle regiment will follow behind. The first battle regiment will follow me at the end."
Ang Lee ordered loudly.
Hearing the order, Nan Jiyun waved her hand and led the scouting team towards the western checkpoint of Gourd Cave. The second scouting team followed closely behind. Then, Li Kunxiong led the first battle regiment and Li Feiyu led the second battle regiment. Ang Lee led the twenty medical and transport soldiers at the end.
Because there were no rivers or mountains on the way to the bandit's lair, Ang Lee did not use the bridge team of the supply regiment. The defense of the bandit's lair was weak. Naturally, there was no need to use the siege team of the special forces.
Using more than eight hundred new soldiers, it was more than enough to wipe out the bandits.
The new soldiers had all undergone strict training. Although the time was short, they were all sturdy farmers with good foundations. The effect of the training was naturally not bad. The effect of moving quickly at night was much better than what Ang Lee had expected. Not a single soldier was left behind. The formation was neat and orderly. Ang Lee could see the embryonic form of an elite army. uu2;
The bandit's lair was only ten miles away from Gourd Cave. The soldiers used an hour to reach their destination and quietly hid.
"Big Brother, we have arrived at the bandit's lair. I just went to take a look. The defense is indeed weak. We can take it down with a surprise attack."
"Big Brother, the scouting team is less than a hundred steps away from the bandit's lair. They are closely monitoring the bandit's movements."
Li Kunxiong and Li Feiyu ran over and reported excitedly.
Ang Lee looked at the time and said softly, "Very good. Let the soldiers rest for four hours. After four hours, we will attack."
"Big Brother, the bandit's defense is weak. Why do we need to wait for four hours? Isn't it better to attack now?"
Dissatisfied, Li An lectured, "Didn't we say before we set off that we have to ensure that there are no casualties? In another four hours, the bandits' defense will be even weaker. At that time, the soldiers can charge in and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop without wasting any effort."
"General, after four hours, most of the bandits will probably be asleep. Should we charge in and kill them all or take them captives?"
Ang Lee smiled and said softly, "After the army charges in, kill all the bandits who are on sentry duty. Then, charge into the depths of the bandit's lair. Kill all those who are armed. Those who surrender empty-handed can be spared."
"Yes, General."
Ang Lee did this to ensure the absolute safety of the recruits under his command. The bandits with weapons might cause harm to the recruits. No matter if they were playing with weapons or for any other reason, they must be killed immediately.
Leaning against a thick tree trunk and looking at the bright moon hanging in the night sky, Ang Lee's mood was quite complicated. He did not like the life of fighting and killing, but for the interests of the Tang Empire and his own future, Ang Lee still stepped on this dangerous path.
Fortunately, his body was extraordinarily brave, much better than in his previous life. He did not have to worry about dying on the way. Yes, Ang Lee was sure of this.
However, occasionally, Ang Lee would think about it. Even if his status was improved step by step, what could he do? Was this really the life he wanted? What if his achievements overshadowed the emperor? Would he be wrongly convicted and beheaded?
Of course, thinking was just thinking. He still had to do what he needed to do. Since he had already entered the political situation of the Tang Empire, there was no turning back. What he needed to do now was to quell the bandits near the Gourd Valley as soon as possible and relieve the worries of marching into Cuandi.
Four hours passed quickly. The soldiers were ready to attack. As long as Ang Lee gave the order, they could launch a fierce attack on the bandit's lair.
Ang Lee took Kun Xiong and Fei Yu quietly approached the bandit's lair and found Nan Jiyun, who was acting as the vanguard.
"General, our army is ready to wipe out these bandits in one fell swoop and take back the gold jewelry that belongs to us."
Nan Jiyun said confidently.
Ang Lee looked up and glanced at the bandit's lair in front of him. When he saw that there were only three to five sentries standing on the camp and walking back and forth, he could not help but despise them. He looked back at Kun Xiong and Fei Yu and said, "Go back immediately and get ready for battle."
"Yes, Big Brother."
Ang Lee then looked at Nan Jiyun and said seriously, "Nan Jiyun, remember, you must finish the battle quickly. In addition, you must make sure that all the soldiers are alive. This is your promise to me. Don't forget it."
"Yes, General. I will not let you down."
Nan Jiyun was still full of confidence. He could not wait to rush up and wipe out all the bandits in the lair.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "It's almost time. Let's act immediately."
"Yes, General."
Nan Jiyun took the order and led the soldiers of the reconnaissance team to quickly rush to the bandit's lair in front of them.
There were no shouts or war drums. The soldiers quietly launched a surprise attack and followed closely behind Nan Jiyun.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The soldiers of the reconnaissance team shot arrows as they charged and soon killed several sentries on the bandit's lair.
Ang Lee stood in place and watched the soldiers of the reconnaissance team kill all the bandit sentries and quietly rush into the bandit's lair.
The second reconnaissance team followed closely behind and broke into the bandit's lair from another direction. Li Kunxiong and Li Feiyu led the first and second regiments respectively to quickly reinforce and surround the bandit's lair.
At this time, most of the bandits in the camp were asleep and did not have much reaction to the weak sound. The sentries had long been killed when the army charged, so naturally, no one would raise the alarm. Because of this, when the soldiers rushed into their rooms, they still did not understand what was going on and became captives in a daze.
The soldiers completely obeyed Ang Lee's orders and killed all those who had weapons in their hands even if they wanted to surrender. After all, if you had already surrendered, what was the point of holding a weapon? Don't you think it was unnecessary?
When the bandit leader and more than a dozen other bandit leaders heard the commotion and were about to attack, the soldiers had already rushed in. These bandits who usually acted like tyrants had no choice but to surrender and become captives.
Some of the bandits, who were familiar with the terrain, planned to sneak away quietly. However, the two regiments of the army had already surrounded the bandit's lair. As soon as they escaped from the lair, they ran into the army's blade. The bandits who escaped empty-handed were lucky and only became captives. The bandits who had weapons in their hands were not so lucky and were all shot dead by the army.
A battle without any suspense soon ended. This battle could not even be described as a battle. After all, the bandits had almost no chance to resist.
Ang Lee was more concerned about the casualties of the soldiers under his command. As soon as the battle was over, he quickly ordered the generals of each division to quickly count their men and report the casualties.
"General, all the bandits have been killed."
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