reax;
Cuan Chongdao had already confirmed that this was Duan Jianwei's scheme. However, he had been mentally prepared. He planned to beat Duan Jianwei at his own game. He planned to use this surprise attack as an opportunity to unify Cuan Land and greatly expand his power. As long as he could unify the tribes of Cuan Land, he had nothing to fear from Nanzhao.
"King Cuangui, to tell you the truth, these words were told to me by Duan Jianwei himself. I also believe it."
Cuan Chongdao clearly wanted King Cuangui to die with no regrets.
King Cuangui was stunned for a moment. He looked at Cuan Chongdao and laughed maniacally. "I understand, I understand. Nanzhao deliberately instigated this. Pi Luoge used his two daughters to make us kill each other."
"Yes, I also know that I fell into a trap. However, as long as I eliminate you, no one in Cuandi will oppose me. At that time, I will control thirty to fifty thousand people. Why should I fear Nanzhao?"
Cuan Chongdao's face was full of pride. It seemed that he did not care about Nanzhao at all.
"Cuan Chongdao, don't be too proud. Your end may not be better than mine. Pi Luoge is ruthless. He is even willing to sacrifice his own daughters. You are no match for him."
King Cuangui glared angrily at Cuan Chongdao.
"Don't talk nonsense when you are about to die. You won't be able to see who will win. Just die in peace."
Cuan Chongdao's face was full of disdain.
"Ghost Lord, we did not find Cuan Shouyu. Nanzhao's princess is also not here."
"Ghost Lord, the people in the residence have all escaped."
A few soldiers ran over to report.
Cuan Chongdao was furious. He took out the long sword at his waist and placed it on King Cuangui's neck. He shouted, "King Cuangui, where are your family members?"
"Hahaha, little brat, don't waste your time. My son has already left the city. He will lead the army to avenge me. Just wait for your death."
King Cuangui was furious.
"You are the one who should die. Die!"
Cuan Chongdao could not take it anymore. He waved his sword and beheaded King Cuangui.
Seeing King Cuangui's head rolling on the ground, Cuan Chongdao kicked it far away. He gritted his teeth and cursed.
"Ghost Lord, we have searched the entire city but could not find Cuan Shouyu and his men.... Nanzhao's princess.
"Ghost Lord, there are no family members of King Cuangui in the city. It seems that they have already escaped."
Cuan Chongdao was furious. "Impossible, absolutely impossible. They are holding a wedding, and our army has already surrounded the city. The city gates have all been blocked. How could they have escaped? They must still be in the city."
At this moment, Cuan Chongdao was very nervous. His original plan was to eliminate King Cuangui's forces once and for all and stabilize his position. Unexpectedly, King Cuangui's son, Cuan Shouyu, had escaped. This made him very nervous. As long as Cuan Shouyu was not dead, King Cuangui's old subordinates would most likely be loyal to Cuan Shouyu and cause trouble for him. Furthermore, King Cuangui's wife, Ah Kuan, was the chief of the Wu Barbarian Tribe. If she escaped and borrowed troops from the Wu Barbarian Tribe, the consequences would be very troublesome.
Cuan Chongdao did not expect Cuan Shouyu and Ah Kuan to escape. This made him flustered and exasperated. uu1;
"Ghost Lord, a secret passage has been discovered at the eastern city wall."
"There's a secret passage at the eastern city wall!"
Cuan Chongdao was shocked. He hurriedly led the elite troops to the eastern city wall and entered the secret passage to leave the city.
"Ghost Lord, there are six thousand troops ten li to the east. They are King Cuangui's main force. Cuan Shouyu and Ah Kuan must have escaped there."
"Ghost Lord, speed is the most important thing in war. Our army should immediately advance."
Cuan Chongdao nodded and ordered, "All troops advance immediately and kill Cuan Shouyu."
After leaving three thousand troops to guard the city, Cuan Chongdao led the main force to the east side of King Cuangui's camp, ready to kill Cuan Shouyu and the others who had escaped there.
Just as Cuan Chongdao killed King Cuangui, Cuan Chongdao's son, Cuan Fuchao, also used tricks to open the gates of Kunzhou City. He killed Cuan Rijin and his son and took over Kunzhou City.
Cuan Fuchao was much luckier than his father. Not only did he succeed in killing Cuan Rijin and his son, but he also obtained the Nanzhao Princess as his spoils of war.
Cuan Fuchao, who had admired the Nanzhao Princess for a long time, was moved by her beauty at first sight. He stayed at Cuan Rijin's mansion that night and did the Nanzhao Princess. He domineeringly told the princess that he, Cuan Fuchao, should be her husband and that Cuan Rijin's foolish son was not qualified to compete with him.
On a small hill five miles away from Kun State City, Duan Jianwei looked at the city in the distance with joy in his eyes. What happened that night was naturally within his control. As he expected, Cuan Chongdao really did attack King Cuan Gui and Cuan Rijin. Moreover, he did it quickly and ruthlessly, which was exactly what Duan Jianwei needed.
"Mr. Duan, there's a letter from Nanning Prefecture."
A subordinate handed a small note to Duan Jianwei and slowly retreated.
"Cuan Chongdao broke into Nanning Prefecture and killed King Cuan Gui. Cuan Shouyu and his family fled Nanning Prefecture and went to the military camp ten li east of the city to hide. They built a fortress to protect themselves. Good, it's really good. It's more perfect than I expected. Haha."
Duan Jianwei was very happy when he saw the letter from Nanning Prefecture.
"Congratulations, Mr. Duan. It's a success."
A middle-aged man with a tall and sturdy figure walked over with large strides.
"Haha, First Prince, you flatter me. This is just the beginning. It's still far from being a success."
Duan Jianwei said modestly.
This burly middle-aged man was Nanzhao's First Prince, Gelofeng. This time, he was ordered to lead 20,000 troops to guard the border of Cuandi. However, there were veteran generals in charge of the army. He led a small number of elite guards and went to Kunzhou City in plain clothes to observe the local customs of Cuandi so that he could have a good understanding of Cuandi after inheriting the throne of Nanzhao in the future.
Gelofeng smiled gently and looked at Duan Jianwei. "Mr. Duan is too modest. In Xiao Wang's opinion, Cuandi will soon belong to Nanzhao under Mr. Duan's strategy. Xiao Wang has been waiting for this day."
"Hahaha, thanks to First Prince's auspicious words, I will definitely work hard."
Duan Jianwei laughed. Standing on the top of the mountain, he talked with Gelofeng about the situation in Cuandi and how to deal with it in the best way to benefit Nanzhao. uu2;
Although Gelofeng was not Pi Luoge's biological son, his talent and strategy were similar to Pi Luoge's. In other words, only when Gelofeng inherited the throne of Nanzhao could Nanzhao walk on the path of prosperity.
As someone who had a strong sense of patriotism and practical interests, Duan Jianwei naturally hoped that Nanzhao would become stronger and stronger. For this reason, he did not hesitate to support Gelofeng. This time, he was ordered to take care of Cuandi and strongly recommended Gelofeng to lead troops to the border of Cuandi. This would give Gelofeng a chance to show off and build up his prestige to prepare for his future ascension to the throne.
Gelofeng was well aware of Duan Jianwei's support. He had already promised that as long as he ascended to the throne, the Duan Jianwei would become the number one noble family in Nanzhao. He would also promote Duan Jianwei to be in charge of the core affairs of Nanzhao.
In other words, the Duan Jianwei represented the Duan Jianwei had already formed an alliance with Gelofeng. Both sides had common interests. They had to stick together to deal with various threats and ensure that Nanzhao would become stronger and stronger in the future.
###
In the direction of Luzhou.
Early in the morning, the soldiers of Gourd Cave were fully prepared for battle. According to Ang Lee's plan, today was the day to eliminate the largest bandit group in Luzhou.
Although Cuanwudi's nest was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Ang Lee had asked the craftsmen to create a variety of siege weapons. As for how powerful these weapons were, Ang Lee was not completely sure. He could only obtain detailed data through actual combat.
"General, the entire army has been assembled. We can set off at any time."
The general reported loudly.
Ang Lee nodded and ordered, "Let's move out to the bandit's nest."
"Yes, general."
The general immediately passed down the order.
More than three thousand five hundred soldiers slowly left Gourd Cave and followed the rugged mountain path towards Cuanwudi's nest.
At the front of the army was the special forces cavalry and reconnaissance team. In the middle were the eight main forces. At the back were the special forces' siege team and logistics team.
Ang Lee and most of the generals were at the back. They would adjust the speed of the army according to the situation. This was to prevent the vanguard from moving too fast and causing the army to be too spread out.
The siege weapons used by the siege troops were relatively bulky. For this reason, the siege troops were also equipped with a large number of supply wagons to transport these weapons. Of course, the transport team also helped to transport some of these weapons. In addition, the transport team's task was relatively heavy. Other than transporting the siege weapons needed by the siege troops, they were also responsible for transporting various weapons and armor, as well as arrows and other consumables. The medical team's supply wagons were filled with medicine, stretchers and other items.
The army did not move too fast or too slow. Before noon, they arrived at Cuanwudi's nest. They adjusted their formation and prepared to attack.
This was the first siege since the formation of the army. The enemy's defense was also very strong. This was a good test of the army's fighting spirit. It was also a good test of the strength of the siege weapons.
The soldiers of the siege team were quickly assembling the heavy siege weapons. The soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battle Regiments followed closely behind to protect the soldiers of the siege team and prevent the bandits from suddenly rushing out.
The cavalry and reconnaissance teams were in charge of holding the line and waiting for orders.
The black mass of soldiers outside the city was making final preparations to attack the mountain stronghold. This made the bandits guarding the mountain stronghold very nervous.
Cuanwudi was worried about his subordinates. He personally ran to the front to supervise the battle and prepared to fight to the death. uu3;
"Great Ghost Lord, look, the army is preparing to attack the stronghold. That big black thing should be the catapult. There are many small things behind it."
"Great Ghost Lord, can we hold the stronghold?"
Cuanwudi was furious. "If anyone dares to shake the morale of the army again, kill them all. Defend the stronghold well. No one is allowed to retreat. If the stronghold is breached, we will all die."
"Yes, Great Ghost Lord."
The bandits had already experienced Ang Lee's methods. Naturally, they did not dare to slack off.
Bandits were all desperadoes, but they did not have advanced combat equipment and combat theory. All they had was a fierce and aggressive spirit. These were enough to deal with ordinary civilians, but when faced with a well-trained army, they were obviously powerless.
At the very least, at this moment, they could only wait for the army to attack. They did not dare to take the initiative to attack the army because they knew that as long as they rushed out, they would definitely die. Using the advantageous terrain to defend was their only choice.
The soldiers of the special forces moved very quickly. The siege equipment on the battlefield was quickly assembled. Ten heavy catapults, twenty ballistae, and five large siege vehicles were all in place. In addition, there were also a large number of giant shields and siege ladders.
The catapults were modified under Ang Lee's guidance. The accuracy of the catapults was greatly increased. The ballistae were based on Ang Lee's impression of the future. The craftsmen had experimented many times and finally succeeded. The large siege vehicle was a folding ladder. There was a platform at the bottom and six wheels. After pushing it to the bottom of the wall, the soldiers only needed to unfold the ladder and climb it until they reached the top of the wall.
The army was already prepared to attack at any time, but the bandits on the wall were still curiously looking on. They had never seen the power of the ballistae and catapults before, and thought that they would not be a threat to their lives as long as they were outside the range of their bows.
Their thinking was obviously wrong, and they had to pay the price in blood for this mistake.
Li An glanced at the walls of the stronghold in disdain. He waved his hand and ordered, "Begin the siege."
"Prepare to attack."
Following the order, the ten heavy catapults and twenty ballistae opened fire at the same time, shooting giant rocks and arrows at the bandits on the wall.
The sudden attack caught the bandits off guard. At least ten of them were killed on the spot. And as the attack continued, more and more bandits lost their lives.
The first round of long-range attacks scared the bandits so much that they scurried back and forth on the wall. The scene was chaotic, with cries and curses intertwined. Even Cuan Wudi's scolding couldn't stop them.
Ang Lee was not in a hurry to let his soldiers attack. He wanted to use long-range weapons to destroy the enemy first. Only then would he be able to protect himself.
"Send the order. The giant shields and ballistae advance."
Ang Lee gave the order again.
Immediately, the soldiers of the first regiment formed into groups of five. Two spearmen were responsible for raising their shields and charging forward. The archers and ballistae quietly followed behind, ready to shoot at the bandits once they were in range. As for the sword-shield soldiers, they had already followed Ang Lee's orders. They had abandoned their swords and shields and were equipped with repeating crossbows. They were responsible for commanding this small unit.
"General, didn't you say that I would be the vanguard? Why did you let the first regiment go first?"
Nan Jiyun complained to Ang Lee with a dissatisfied face.
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