Ang Lee sent 3,000 Dragon Warriors to support the vanguard legion chasing the pirates to ensure that the elite Tang Army fighting in the front was twice as strong as the pirates. With the absolute advantage in equipment and strength, it would be easy to defeat the pirates.
The remaining 3,000 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army began to clean up the battlefield. They cleaned up the corpses of the dead pirates, guarded the captured pirates, and searched the houses one by one to prevent any survivors from escaping. They also counted the spoils of war and saw how much looted resources were stored in the pirate den.
After searching a large number of houses and pirate ships, the Tang Army captured more than 100 pirates who escaped the net. These guys thought that they could avoid the Tang Army's search by hiding in a corner. It was simply wishful thinking.
"Big Brother, these pirates are filthy rich! It's no less than what the White Wolf robbed. There are 50,000 grains alone, and countless gold, silver, and jewelry. Now it's all ours, haha! "
Li Feiyu reported excitedly.
Ang Lee also smiled happily and asked casually, "Have you found the Princess of Wen Kingdom?"
"Big Brother, look, the little girl walking over should be the Princess of Wen Kingdom."
Li Feiyu looked up and saw the envoy of Wen Kingdom coming over with a little girl. He knew that this person must be the Princess of Wen Kingdom.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Yes, I finally found her. Look at her walking posture, I know she's a beauty."
"Big Brother, if you like her, why don't you take her?"
Li Feiyu smiled.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and shook his head. "She looks too young. She's probably still a child. Big Brother, how can you have the heart to do that? Haha! "
As he spoke, the envoy of Wen Kingdom came over with their beautiful princess and bowed to Ang Lee.
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li, for saving my life. Angel is very grateful."
Princess Wen Kingdom's voice was very sweet. At first glance, one could tell that she was a happy little princess who had lived in a happy and comfortable environment since childhood.
Ang Lee lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Princess Angel, how old are you?"
"I'm already 28."
Angel answered directly.
"That's the best age in life. Princess Angel is really beautiful, even more beautiful than the princess of the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee said sincerely.
"Really?"
Princess Angel was very happy. After a pause, she said excitedly, "I'll go to Chang 'an City soon. I'll visit the princess of the Tang dynasty and see if what you said is true."
Seeing the shrewdness in Angel's small eyes, Li An knew that this little fellow was not so easily fooled. He smiled and said, "Chang 'an City is a long way away and Your Highness has been frightened. Why don't you rest for a few days before setting off?"
Rising Island was so big, and the pirates had been operating for so many years. It would definitely take a lot of time and energy to completely eliminate this group of pirates. It might not be possible to finish it in three to five days. It was also good to let this little beauty stay with him. Moreover, such a young child had suffered such a big shock, she also needed some time to calm down.
Angel blinked her eyes and nodded. "Alright! . and I want to stay and see how the bad guys who caught me were caught by you. "
Princess Angel looked very angry as she spoke. She seemed to hate the pirates who caught her.
Ang Lee suddenly thought of a very serious problem and asked, "Princess Angel, did these pirates bully you?"
Angel shook her head and said, "Their leader is called Wolf One. He said that he wanted to offer me to Brother Black Wolf to warm his bed, so he ordered all the pirates not to touch me and even gave me good food to eat. Speaking of which, he's not bad to me. However, they're still bad people after all. They even killed more than a hundred of my Wen Kingdom's soldiers.
After saying that, Angel clenched her small pink fists, wishing she could beat up all the pirates to vent the hatred in her heart.
Li An felt relieved. Looking at Angel's appearance, he felt funny and hurriedly comforted her, "Princess, you don't have to worry. Two thousand of the five thousand pirates have already been annihilated by our army. The remaining three thousand pirates are nothing to be afraid of. It won't be long before that Wolf One that Princess hates will be captured by our Tang Army.
Princess Angel was stunned and asked, "Why do you want him to go with me?"
Ang Lee knew that the little girl wouldn't react so quickly. He said, "Such a wicked pirate leader must be escorted to Chang 'an City and handed over to His Majesty. Princess, you are going to Chang' an City, right? We are going the same way!"
Princess Angel's eyes lit up and said, "Then I will humiliate this pirate on the way. I won't let him have a good life."
"Haha! It's all up to Princess. "
Ang Lee laughed and picked up the binoculars to observe the situation in the distance.
At this time, the Tang Army had advanced more than ten miles into the island. However, due to the rugged terrain and many trees in the depths of the island, the pirates would also set up obstacles, which greatly limited the progress of the armored artillery vehicles. If the soldiers didn't have the cover of heavy weapons, their attack would inevitably be hindered, and their progress would gradually slow down.
"Assistant Minister Li, most of the pirates are fleeing to the mountainous areas with the highest terrain, which is very disadvantageous to our army's attack. The armored artillery vehicles can't drive in at all. The pirates also set up strong checkpoints on the road into the mountains. Cannons can't break through them. The Vanguard Battalion has suffered many casualties."
A general who was injured by an arrow on the battlefield complained to Ang Lee after he retreated.
Ang Lee smiled faintly and said, "It seems that I have underestimated these pirates. They even prepared a way out. If they can't beat us, they will run into the mountains and set up checkpoints. Amazing!"
"Big Brother, the pirates' checkpoints are built against the mountains, which are very easy to defend and difficult to attack. It's inevitable that they will suffer setbacks."
Li Feiyu said.
Ang Lee nodded and ordered, "Order the Sky Army to immediately take off and investigate. Check the pirates' deployment from the air. Let's go to the front and have a look."
"Assistant Minister Li, I also want to go to the front and have a look."
Princess Wen Guo insisted on going to watch the battle despite her subordinates' objections.
Ang Lee wanted to refuse, but he was going. What danger could there be? The pirates' weapons were at most some swords and bows, which were not much of a threat. Moreover, Ang Lee would not run into the pirates' shooting range.
"Okay! But Princess, you must not run around. You have to stay close to me. "
Ang Lee agreed with a smile and took Princess Wen Guo to the front line to watch the battle.
In the continuous attack and defense battle, the Tang Army achieved some results. They conquered many checkpoints set by the pirates, annihilated and captured a group of pirates, which greatly boosted the morale of the troops.
Looking at the dozens of armored artillery vehicles parked at the foot of the mountain, Ang Lee frowned. Without the support of heavy weapons, the troops at the front would inevitably face great difficulties in the battle, and it would be easy to cause casualties. Ang Lee was very clear about the huge advantage of having a high ground.
"Big Brother, the artillery brigade under the Dragon Martial Army has already gone up. They will assist the Vanguard Battalion in the attack."
Li Feiyu reported. In the rugged terrain, the armored artillery vehicles could not do anything, but the cannons could still be transported up. After all, the cannons were much smaller than the armored artillery vehicles. They could be transported up the mountain with the help of men and horses.
"The pirates only have cold weapons with limited range. There's nothing to worry about. Let's go up the mountain and have a look."
Ang Lee led the group along the relatively smooth mountain road, step by step, preparing to move closer to the front.
"Come on, come on, we're almost there."
On the way, Ang Lee saw five soldiers and a group of horses pulling the cannons with all their strength. The wheels of the cannons were stuck in a big pit. They were trying to drag the cannons out in time to reinforce the troops at the front.
Ang Lee winked and asked the guards beside him to help. After more than a dozen guards joined in, the cannons that were stuck in the big pit were finally pulled out and continued to be pulled up the mountain.
More than a dozen guards also consciously picked up their weapons and filled the big pit, so as not to affect the actions of the following troops.
The mountain road was rugged and difficult to walk on. From time to time, they would step on the bumpy ground. Moreover, the mountain road went up and down, which was very physical.
Although Ang Lee had not suffered for a long time, he still had the foundation of his body, so he did not feel too tired. However, Princess Angel was a little tired. The more she walked, the more out of breath she became. From time to time, she would beat her legs.
After walking to a small mountain, Ang Lee stopped. The battlefield was three miles ahead. Standing here, he could clearly see the whole picture of the battlefield.
More than a hundred pirates were entrenched in high places. Taking advantage of the unique terrain, they shot arrows and threw stones down from time to time. The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion below were under great pressure. Many arrows were stuck in their shields, so they could not attack at all.
In this case, the Vanguard Battalion must call for artillery support. The artillery brigade's cannons were in place in time. There were as many as three cannons, and they fired upward continuously.
After the cannonballs were fired, most of them did not hit the vital parts. Some hit the trees along the way and blew up the trunks. Some flew over the heads of the pirates and did not cause any real damage to them. Some hit the rocks in front of the pirates, causing sparks to fly in all directions.
In short, the continuous firing of the three cannons failed to repel more than a hundred pirates entrenched in high places, nor did they cause too much damage to the pirates. Most of the cannons missed.
On the other hand, many soldiers of the Tang Army's Vanguard Battalion were injured. The rest of them held up their shields and carefully pushed forward.
Large stones rolled down, and these soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion were forced to retreat. Many of them were injured or killed again.
After observing for a long time, Ang Lee found a very serious problem. The position of the pirates was very special. The cannons that Ang Lee invented were all cumbersome cannons that could fire directly, especially at close range.
If they wanted to achieve curved shots, they could only use long shots, but the accuracy of long shots was much worse. It was even more difficult to deal with the pirates in special positions.
At this moment, if there was a mortar, they could use the pirates entrenched in high places as live targets. Unfortunately, the current technology was still relatively backward. There were no such cannons that focused on curved shots.
"Big Brother, the pirates are hiding in high places. Our cannons can't hit them at all! The Vanguard Battalion has also suffered dozens of casualties. We haven't been able to attack for so long. Why don't we let the elites of the Dragon Martial Army go out? "
Li Feiyu watched for a long time and felt helpless. At the same time, he was very angry. The elite troops of the Tang Dynasty were blocked by more than a hundred pirates for so long, and Princess Wen Guo was watching from the side. This was somewhat humiliating.
At this moment, many planes of the Sky Army flew overhead and continued to fly into the depths of the island to explore the terrain of the entire island and the characteristics of the pirates' defenses. From there, they could prepare for the next step of eliminating all the pirates.
"Is this the only way up the mountain?"
Ang Lee picked up the binoculars and looked around.
"We don't know if there are other ways up the mountain. However, the main force of the pirates escaped from here. There were at least one or two thousand of them."
A soldier replied.
Ang Lee saw that the Vanguard Battalion that attacked the strong stronghold had suffered a lot of losses. He ordered, "Stop the attack. Retreat a few hundred steps and set up camp. Trap these damn pirates. Without food, I don't believe that they won't surrender."
Although there were certainly fruits and game in the mountains, the amount was bound to be limited. It was absolutely impossible to feed thousands of people. Therefore, Ang Lee was not in a hurry. When the pirates were starving, they would obediently come out and surrender. After all, the core port and camp were firmly controlled by the Tang Dynasty Army. These pirates hiding in the mountains were no longer a threat.
Under Ang Lee's orders, the five pursuing troops all stopped chasing and set up camp nearby, waiting for Ang Lee's next orders.
After returning to the flat land, Ang Lee was not in a hurry to give orders. He had two things to do. The first was to wait for the intelligence from the Sky Army to understand the distribution and characteristics of the pirates on this huge island, as well as the terrain and landform of the entire island. The second was to interrogate the captured pirates and get the necessary information from them.
The investigation of the Sky Army and the interrogation of the pirates took time. However, the number of captured pirates was very large. There were always some guys who were afraid of death and wanted to atone for their crimes as soon as possible. Therefore, the information obtained from the interrogation of the pirates came quickly. After some verification, it was reported to Ang Lee.
"Assistant Minister Li, the pirates have many caves in the mountains where they store food. The food and fodder they have stored is enough for them to consume for three to five months. This is beyond our previous expectations. I'm afraid it won't be easy to trap them."
A department general reported.
Ang Lee was stunned and could not help but feel a little irritated. These pirates had prepared a large amount of food and fodder in the depths of the island in order to guard against the Tang Dynasty Navy. Apart from the Tang Dynasty Navy, what other force could drive them into the mountains?
"Big Brother, the pirates have enough food and fodder. Our army still has to continue the attack. The casualties in this battle are estimated to be not small."
Li Feiyu said helplessly.
"Don't be in a hurry to attack. Let's wait for the Sky Army's investigation. They look down from the sky and see the terrain. Some of it may not even be clear to the pirates themselves."
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