Ang Lee considered that the island was very large and the terrain was complicated and unfamiliar. At the same time, the vegetation on the island was very high. This would cause a lot of trouble for the attacking force. If the army got lost on the island, or if the place they attacked was not the core area of the pirates, it would cause a lot of losses.
The pirates had been operating for many years and undoubtedly knew the terrain of the island very well. If the pirates discovered that the elite navy of the Tang dynasty was coming, they would retreat into the depths of the island and engage in guerrilla warfare with the Tang dynasty's army. This would inevitably greatly weaken the equipment advantage of the Tang dynasty's navy and minimize the advantage of the Tang dynasty's navy.
If they wanted to avoid this situation, they had to be fully prepared. Before tomorrow's dawn, they would suddenly launch a large-scale attack so that the pirates would have no time to react. Thus, most of the pirates would be wiped out in one fell swoop. As for the small number of pirates that escaped into the depths of the island, there was no need to be afraid. They could just let the Vanguard Battalion go and wipe them out. After all, they were all criminals, so it would not be a big deal if a few of them died.
No matter how he thought about it, Li An felt that his plan was flawless. It was the best battle plan he could come up with. However, he couldn't help but feel a little excited before the battle. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He paced back and forth in the cabin and unknowingly walked out onto the deck.
Looking at the dark sea and the stars in the sky outside, Ang Lee felt even more nervous before the battle. Although there was no doubt that they would win this battle, it was hard to predict how many soldiers they would lose.
"Assistant Minister Li, you haven't slept yet!"
The envoy of the Wen Kingdom certainly could not sleep. He had lost the princess. He was very nervous when he heard that the Tang dynasty's navy was about to attack the pirates' lair. He had seen the strength of the Tang dynasty's navy with his own eyes and had never doubted the strength of the Tang dynasty's navy. However, he also knew the cruelty of the pirates. If these pirates were driven to desperation and killed their beautiful princess, he would not be able to explain it to his superiors.
Ang Lee looked at the envoy and said, "You are worried about your beautiful princess, right?"
"Yes, the pirates are extremely cruel. If they kill the princess, I …"
The envoy from Wen Kingdom frowned worriedly.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Don't worry. Our army launched a sudden attack, so the pirates didn't have the time to kill the captives. Moreover, our soldiers won't kill people who have lost their weapons. You can rest assured and wait for good news tomorrow morning."
"Yes, that's the only way."
Wen Kingdom's envoy nodded, but he still didn't go back to sleep. He stood nearby to accompany Ang Lee, because if he really couldn't sleep, he would suffocate to death in the cabin.
While Ang Lee was nervously preparing for battle, the pirates on the island were having a grand carnival.
Yesterday, they had robbed the Wen Kingdom's diplomatic mission and obtained a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels. Moreover, they had also captured the most beautiful princess of the Wen Kingdom. This was a great harvest.
They had already celebrated last night, but a day of celebration wasn't enough for such a great harvest. Tonight, they celebrated again, and the celebration was even more enthusiastic than yesterday.
The leader of this group of pirates was called Wolf One, and he was also called King One by the other pirates. Naturally, the pirates in the headquarters called him King. He had occupied this place for a long time, and even Black Wolf had to give him some respect.
"King, didn't you kidnap a beautiful lady yesterday? She's actually the princess of the Wen Kingdom. I was wondering why she was so beautiful."
A pirate leader found out the princess's identity by interrogating the captured soldiers.
"She's actually the princess of the Wen Kingdom. No wonder she's so beautiful."
Wolf almost spat out a mouthful of water.
"King, you were busy the whole day yesterday and didn't have time to enjoy this beauty. Tonight is a beautiful night. Why don't you enjoy it well?"
A pirate said.
"King, you can play for a few more days. If you get tired of her, you can let us have a taste. Hahaha!"
A wretched-looking pirate laughed heartily.
"King, this princess is obviously a virgin. She's so white and tender, so damn cute."
"Hahahaha!"
Wolf One also laughed. After a pause, he said loudly, "Send more people to guard this princess of the Wen Kingdom. If anyone dares to touch her, I'll kill them."
"King, why is that?"
A pirate leader found that the atmosphere was not right and quickly asked.
Wolf One's eyes narrowed as he said sternly, "Have you all f * cking forgotten? In a few days, it will be my brother Black Wolf's birthday. I have to give him some gifts. I was worried a few days ago. Black Wolf doesn't lack anything. No matter how much money you give him, it won't move his heart. This princess of the Wen Kingdom is quite to my brother Black Wolf's liking. She's perfect as a birthday gift. "
As Hei Lang's brother, Lang Yi knew what his brother liked. A beautiful woman would definitely make Hei Lang like her. However, if he had already enjoyed her, then she wouldn't be worth much. Only by offering a virgin girl would he be able to move Hei Lang's heart. That was also the most sincere way.
"Since this princess belongs to my king, we won't dare to touch her. We won't dare to mess around. My king, you can rest assured."
Wolf One picked up a bowl of liquor and said loudly, "What woman? Drink, drink. Tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk. Come, come, come."
The large group of pirates all ate and drank to their heart's content. They indulged themselves and enjoyed the fun of pirate life, unaware that danger was approaching step by step.
The steam-powered ships were twice as fast as ordinary sailing ships. Therefore, even if the pirates' patrol ships found the Tang Dynasty fleet, it was too late to go back and inform them.
Ang Lee returned to the cabin to rest in the middle of the night. Before dawn, the fleet's vanguard steam-powered gunships had found the island in the distance and immediately reported to Ang Lee.
Although he was sleepy, the attack was about to begin. Ang Lee had to force himself to stay awake and personally give the order to attack.
"Big Brother, there's a large dark area in front of us. That's the island."
Ang Lee glanced at it and then looked at the map in front of him. He ordered, "Everyone, immediately prepare for battle according to the battle plan set up yesterday."
Although he didn't know much about the situation on the island, he still knew a little about the situation near the port. Especially the port, which could be seen from far away. There were many buildings near the port. Therefore, this area must be the core area of the pirates.
Ang Lee's battle plan was to send 20 steam-powered gunships to bombard the land buildings behind the pirate port and kill the pirates on duty. If pirates appeared on the pirate ships, they would immediately bombard and even sink the pirate ships.
Then, the five steam-powered landing ships would disembark in two groups and attack the core area of the pirate lair from two directions. The rest of the troops would also disembark. Among them, the 2,000 men of the Vanguard Battalion would split into two groups. Each group had 1,000 men and horses. They would follow behind the armored gunships and cover the advance of the armored gunships together with the Guangzhou soldiers. When they encountered narrow terrain, they would attack and expand the results of the battle.
For example, in areas where the armored gunships couldn't pass through, they had already entered the houses to search for the remaining pirates. These tasks could only be completed by the Vanguard Battalion.
The main force, the Dragon Martial Army, followed behind the Vanguard Battalion as their backup force. When necessary, the Dragon Martial Army could send their artillery brigade to support the Vanguard Battalion in battle to reduce casualties and eliminate the pirates to a greater extent.
The remaining ten steam-powered gunships were responsible for sealing off the entire island to prevent the pirate leaders from escaping.
The ten airplanes on the Sky Army's mothership would be deployed when needed. As long as the Vanguard Battalion encountered a strong stronghold that was difficult to conquer, the Sky Army would come to help.
The Sky Army also had another important task, which was to airlift elite soldiers to seize strategic locations to better attack the pirate forces.
As for where the strategic locations were, they would only be able to find out if they were on the island first. There was no need to rush.
The various troops immediately began to move according to the route that they had discussed in advance. The steam-powered gunships were the fastest. They soon arrived at the Vanguard Island and immediately launched an artillery attack.
Boom, boom, boom …
The 20 steam-powered gunships had a very large number of cannons. How could the pirates withstand the simultaneous bombardment of the pirate port's facilities? The dozens of pirates on duty were all bombed and ran away like rats. A large number of corpses were left behind. The walls of the pirate camp, which was several miles deep, had also collapsed.
Many pirates who were still asleep didn't know what had happened and hurriedly ran out. Many pirates didn't even have time to put on their underwear and ran out naked.
"Earthquake, is it an earthquake?"
"If it's an earthquake, this island will sink. Quickly go to the port."
The pirates screamed in terror.
"It's not an earthquake. It's the Tang Army's Navy that has launched an attack. How many ships are there? It's too scary. "
"The Tang Army's Navy is here. The Tang Army's Navy has arrived so quickly."
"The port is in a sea of fire. We can only escape into the woods."
The pirates were in a panic and didn't think about how to defend at all.
Because he drank too much last night, the pirate leader, Lang Yi, had not yet woken up. Even if the sound of cannons shook the sky outside, it still did not affect his sleep.
It was said that heartless people had better sleep quality. This Lang Yi looked like a heartless person. He also drank wine, so he slept very well.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's not good. The Tang Army's Navy is here."
The trusted subordinate didn't care too much. He directly poured a basin of cold water on Lang Yi's head and woke him up.
"What's the matter? What happened?"
Lang Yi was suddenly awakened by the water. He quickly wiped the water droplets on his forehead with his hand and asked in a panic.
"Your Majesty, leave here quickly. The Tang Army's Navy suddenly launched an attack. The sea is full of big ships of the Tang Army. The port is surrounded."
The subordinate said in horror.
"Your Majesty, the Tang Army's Navy is very powerful. If we fight them head-on, our army is definitely not their match. It's better to retreat first. I'll ask my brothers to hold them off first."
Another trusted subordinate said in a hurry.
Lang Yi listened to the rumbling sound of cannons in the distance and the screams of the pirates under his command. He also understood that the enemy's Navy was fierce. He nodded and said, "Follow me to evacuate from here and go up the mountain."
A group of pirates protected Lang Yi and ran toward the depths of the island. The rest used their familiarity with the terrain to get rid of the Tang Army's pursuit.
As for Princess Wen Guo, who was captured by them, she had long been forgotten. When it was a matter of life and death, who would think of the captured beauty?
Just as Lang Yi led the pirates to escape to the depths of the island, the two landing forces of the Tang Army's Navy had begun to land. Three steam-powered landing ships landed in the direction of the port, and the other two landed in another small port not too far away. They formed a pincer attack on the pirate's main camp.
50 armored artillery vehicles, 500 Guangzhou Army soldiers, and 2,000 soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion immediately launched an all-out attack on the pirate group after landing. They also raised the flag of surrender to persuade some of the pirates to surrender.
The pirates were all using cold weapons, so they could not resist the artillery attack of the armored artillery vehicles. The hastily built defense facilities could not withstand the impact of the armored artillery vehicles. Soon, the weak defense system was facing collapse.
Seeing that the pirates had been utterly defeated, the Vanguard Battalion, which was originally also a pirate battalion, did not care about Li An's recruitment policy. They directly rushed to the front of the armored artillery car and beheaded the pirates to their heart's content to atone for their sins. Even if they killed a few more pirates, they would be rewarded.
Under the scolding of the Guangzhou Army soldiers, the Vanguard Battalion slightly restrained themselves. However, they still beheaded 500 to 600 pirates. Adding the pirates killed by the armored artillery vehicles and steam gunships, there should be a total of 1,000 pirates.
In other words, from the beginning of the attack, more than 1,000 pirates had been killed in such a short period of time. Nearly 1,000 pirates were surrounded by the Tang Army's Navy and could not escape at all. They could only helplessly raise their hands and surrender.
According to the regulations, the Guangzhou Army imprisoned all the 1,000 surrendered pirates in an open space, and 100 soldiers were responsible for guarding them to prevent them from escaping.
At this time, 6,000 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army had already landed on the island, and even Ang Lee had come up.
"Assistant Minister Li, our army has achieved a great victory. We have killed a thousand pirates and captured another thousand. The remaining three thousand pirates have scattered and fled. Most of them have fled into the depths of the mountains. Our main forces are currently pursuing them. I believe that we will have even greater results soon. "
A general reported loudly.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Good, good job. Tell the troops at the front not to be too scattered. There must be at least 500 soldiers in each pursuit to avoid being ambushed by the pirates."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li, this general will go and tell the pursuing troops."
The general immediately went to pass the message.
"Big Brother, the pursuing troops are less than 3,000. Should the 6,000 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army under my command also go to reinforce them?"
Li Feiyu's troops had just landed, and the battle had not yet begun.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "Send one army to reinforce the front line, and the other to stay behind and clean up the battlefield. Right, find Princess Wen as soon as possible."
"Assistant Minister Li, my soldiers and I all recognize the princess. Let us go and find her!"
The Wen Kingdom's envoy quickly volunteered.
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