Although the equipment of the Tang dynasty's troops was quite advanced, far better than the weapons of the pirates, and the range of the crossbows was also higher, these were not enough to make up for the disadvantage of the terrain.
Because the road was rugged and difficult to traverse, all the powerful heavy equipment was left behind when they entered the mountain. The soldiers could only choose to advance with light equipment. Even the larger shields had to be left at the foot of the mountain, and a lot of equipment was left behind along the way.
The vanguard troops in charge of scouting the road only had small round shields for defense, and such equipment could not effectively resist the attacks of the pirates from above.
Therefore, the vanguard troops in charge of scouting the road could only stop and choose to wait. They also told the troops behind to ask for reinforcements from the artillery.
When they set off, they knew that the army had brought two cannons and were at the back of the troops. Now, it was time for these cannons to come into play.
"Why did the troops stop? What happened?"
Seeing the troops suddenly stop, Ang Lee asked.
A lieutenant ran over and said, "Assistant Minister Li, a pirate arrow tower has been found ahead. The location is quite special. If we attack by force, there will be at least a few dozen casualties. We need the support of the cannons."
Hearing this, Ang Lee looked back and said, "The cannons are still behind. They will arrive soon. Let's go and take a look."
After saying that, he stepped forward and prepared to personally inspect the enemy.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's the arrow tower in front. It's blocking the path of the soldiers. Our army lacks heavy equipment, so it's not easy to launch an attack."
His subordinate said.
Ang Lee picked up the binoculars and began to scout the arrow tower 800 steps ahead.
"There aren't many pirates, only five or six of them. Six of them, and their weapons are bows and stones. It's easy for them to cause a lot of damage to our soldiers. Moreover, the road is not wide. Our army can't swarm up with so many soldiers. Using the cannons is indeed the best way."
After personally inspecting the situation on the other side, Ang Lee agreed.
"Assistant Minister Li, the captured guy said that this hiding place has the most pirates. There are estimated to be 40 or 50 of them. As long as we can take down the arrow tower in front, all 40 or 50 of them won't be able to escape."
His subordinate said.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "There's a better way. Let the captured pirates persuade them to surrender. It would be best if they can take the initiative to surrender."
"Persuade them to surrender? Will they really launch a sneak attack?"
His subordinate couldn't believe it. In the end, the remaining pirates were the most powerful. and powerful. After the Tang dynasty publicly executed a large number of captured pirates, they were even more afraid to surrender. However, it didn't matter to give it a try...........................................
Soon, several captive pirates who were in charge of leading the way walked forward under the protection of many Tang soldiers. They were prepared to persuade the pirates in the arrow tower.
Outside the range of the arrows, they began to shout for the pirates in the arrow towers to put down their weapons and surrender to the Great Tang.
..............................................
Soon, a few arrows were shot, expressing the attitude of the pirates. Because of the range, these arrows didn't cause any harm to anyone.
"Assistant Minister Li, it seems that these guys are courting death. Don't give them any more chances. Let them fend for themselves."
His subordinate said angrily when he saw arrows were shot from the arrow tower.
Ang Lee glanced back and saw that the artillery and equipment were about to arrive. He said, "Tell the soldiers to make some space. The artillery is coming."
Soon, all the equipment and ammunition for the two cannons arrived. The artillery team saluted Ang Lee to show their respect.
"Set up the cannons here. The target is the pirate arrow tower in front."
Ang Lee ordered.
The artillery team glanced at the target and promised, "Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. We can kill them in a few shots."
It didn't take too long to assemble the cannons. Soon, the cannons were assembled. They adjusted the angle and were ready to fire.
Because the accuracy of the cannons at this time was not very high, they couldn't guarantee a hit. Therefore, they had to calibrate the shots first. Even so, they needed to shoot many times before they could hit the target.
"Assistant Minister Li, the artillery team is in position. Should we fire?"
The artillery team asked confidently.
Ang Lee ordered, "No hurry. Let the captured pirates persuade them to surrender again. Tell them that if they don't surrender immediately, our cannons will blow them all up."
"The pirates are so disrespectful. The cannons are ready. Do we still need to give them a chance?"
The artillery team spent a lot of effort to bring the cannons up. If the pirates surrendered, his efforts would be in vain.
Ang Lee saw the worry in the artillery team's eyes and said, "The pirates refused to surrender just now. Now that the cannons are in position, if the pirates surrender, it will be the work of the cannons. I will record your achievements. Your efforts won't be in vain."
The pirates tried to persuade the pirates to surrender again. However, it didn't seem to have any effect. After a long time, the pirates still held on to the arrow tower. They even threw a large rock to show their attitude.
"It seems that these guys are determined to fight to the end. What are you waiting for? Fire."
Ang Lee's patience was limited. He wouldn't give the pirates too much of a chance.
"Fire, fire."
The soldiers were all very excited. They were all infantrymen and loved to watch the artillery team fire. They felt that it was very exciting. Moreover, it would greatly reduce their casualties. Why not?
The artillery team was leading the troops under their command to begin the final preparations before firing the cannons.
"Boom boom boom …"
The two cannons fired one after another, firing the angry shells at the pirate arrow tower in front.
The first round of shooting didn't have the slightest effect. Both shells missed and exploded on the treetops in front of the arrow tower, stirring up a lot of smoke.
Ang Lee saw it very clearly with his binoculars. Although they didn't hit the target, the pirates in the arrow tower were all frightened. They looked quite nervous and almost ran away.
"Missed. Continue to reload."
The artillery team didn't hit the target and continued to command.
"Boom boom boom …"
After several rounds of shooting, the arrow tower was hit by the cannons and immediately fell apart.
"Roar roar roar …"
Seeing that the pirate arrow tower in their way was hit, all the soldiers shouted happily.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction and praised, "The artillery team made the first contribution. Soldiers, attack immediately and take the hill in front."
"Kill …"
The 200 Tang Army soldiers in the vanguard shouted and rushed forward to kill the hill in front.
The distance of 800 steps was very fast for the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. Not long after, the Tang Dynasty's flag was inserted on the ruins of the pirate arrow tower. The soldiers shouted and cheered.
"Not bad! Six pirates are all dead. But the sound of the cannons is so loud that the pirates behind must have been prepared. "
Ang Lee walked up the ruins and saw the bodies of the six pirates.
"Assistant Minister Li, the pirates' lair is through the woods in front. They must have received the news and probably slipped away from the back path."
His subordinate said.
"It's best that they escaped. As long as they escape, they will definitely run into the arms of our troops. They can't run away. Today is their death anniversary."
Ang Lee said excitedly.
Before the departure, Ang Lee had considered all the situations. No matter where the remaining pirates fled, they would not be able to escape the siege of the Tang Dynasty's troops. The final result was that they would be wiped out. No one could change this.
"Order the army to speed up the assault and occupy the pirates' secret camp in one fell swoop."
Ang Lee gave the order loudly.
The light armored soldiers in the vanguard advanced quickly and soon disappeared into the dense forest. The soldiers behind also sped up. Not far ahead was the pirate's secret camp. The soldiers were all very excited. They all wanted to see what the pirate's secret camp looked like.
"It's empty. It's empty."
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who rushed into the pirates' secret camp first were a little disappointed. No, they were very disappointed. They had planned to chop off a few more heads to increase their merits. However, all the pirates had run away and there was no one in the camp. In addition, there was no property in the camp that they wanted.
When they first captured the port, the soldiers seized a large amount of wealth. Everyone was very excited because this meant that they could receive a large reward. Moreover, the price they paid was not high. This time, they spent a lot of effort and walked a very difficult path to enter the pirate's secret camp. The effort they put in was much more than when they attacked the port, but they didn't get any benefits. They didn't get any benefits at all.
"What are you waiting for? Go and report to Assistant Minister Li."
The leading young general said loudly.
Soon, the news reached Ang Lee's ears.
"What? All the pirates really ran away? There's nothing in the camp?"
Ang Lee said doubtfully and immediately quickened his pace.
When he walked into the camp, there was really nothing. There were only a few daily necessities. Even the camp itself did not have any decent buildings.
There were only a dozen rather low houses in the entire camp. Each house was very short and inconspicuous. The outside of the house was also camouflaged. Even if one stood at a relatively close position, it was difficult to see it. Or even if one saw it, one would not be able to figure out what it was.
Li An walked into the largest room and found that there was no decent furniture in the room. There were only two simple beds, a table that could be used for eating, four small chairs, and some small trinkets. Other than that, there was nothing else.
The rest of the houses also had little equipment. The smallest house was a kitchen. However, there was no food in it at all. There was only a small amount of firewood.
Ang Lee could not smell the slightest smell of food in the entire camp. He really did not know what these guys usually ate. Could it be that they ate bark and leaves?
"Assistant Minister Li, I have checked many times. There is nothing useful in the pirate camp. There are only a few broken houses. Why don't we burn them all?"
One of his subordinates suggested.
Ang Lee waved his hand and shook his head. "No, the trees here are too dense. It would be terrible if a forest fire was accidentally triggered. The wood here is very useful for the construction of the port of the Tang dynasty. We can't burn it all. That would be too great a loss."
Ang Lee had always paid great attention to the protection of the forest resources near the port because these trees were of good quality. They were very useful for the construction of the port of the Tang dynasty. Naturally, he had to protect them. If it were not for the protection of these trees, Ang Lee would not have to spend so much effort to exterminate the pirates. He could have just set a mountain fire. As long as all the trees were burned, then the pirates would immediately have nowhere to hide. It would be too easy to attack them.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. It would be troublesome if there was a fire. I was thoughtless."
The subordinate hurriedly admitted his mistake.
"These pirates are really strong! There is nothing in the camp. Why don't you go down the mountain and surrender? "
Ang Lee could not help admiring these pirates. He felt that they were quite strong. In fact, these were bad guys who had done a lot of bad things. They were afraid that they would not be able to escape death after surrendering. Therefore, they might as well stay on the mountain. If they could hold on until the main forces of the Tang dynasty withdrew, they would be safe.
Of course, the pirates' wishful thinking failed. The Tang dynasty's forces would have to stay around the port for much longer than they thought. Their end had come.
"Reporting, Assistant Minister Li, traces of the pirates' escape have been found."
A lieutenant ran over and reported.
Hearing this, Ang Lee strode forward and waved his hand. "Let's go. Follow me to have a look."
The location where the pirates' traces were found was not far from the pirate camp. Ang Lee went to see it in person. There were many fresh footprints there, enough to prove that the pirates escaped from there. The direction of the shoes revealed the direction of the pirates' escape.
"Leave 100 people to rest and reorganize. The rest of the army will follow me. We can't give these pirates any chance."
He gave the order.
The terrain in the deep mountains was more complicated. Therefore, it was often necessary to divide the army to ensure that all the pirates' escape routes were controlled. The pirates were like turtles in a jar, with nowhere to hide.
Ang Lee personally led the army to pursue the pirates in the direction of their escape. The other army was also approaching the mountain. As long as the two armies pressed on, the remaining pirates would have no place to hide and would eventually be ruthlessly eliminated.
There were not many places with silt. Soon, the army could not find the direction to follow. They could not even find the way at all. The situation was difficult.
When people were in the dense forest, it was difficult to tell the direction. They could not figure out what was north, south, east, and west.
"Assistant Minister Li, which direction should we go? I can't figure out the direction at all!"
A subordinate looked a little panicked.
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