The setting sun was like blood. The mountains, which had been green and full of life, were dyed with the somberness of autumn under the setting sun. Ye Xiaotian stood on the hillside, watching his great army march forward majestically.
In the battle of Ding Mountain, his army had lost more than eight hundred men and more than a thousand wounded. The seriously wounded had been sent back to the rear for treatment. The lightly wounded did not leave the front line.
They broke through Ding Mountain Pass on the morning of the third day. Half of the Crouching Tiger Cannons had been destroyed. Immediately after, Ye Xiaotian took Bronze Drum and Yan Village in one go.
The terrain of these two places was not as dangerous as Ding Mountain. Also, after the bloody battle at Ding Mountain, his soldiers had rapidly transformed. Their battle experience and morale were worlds apart from before. So, although they had lost some men, their battle power was more than double what it had been before.
Of course, such an obvious increase in battle power usually only happened to troops participating in this kind of battle for the first time. It was like a new soldier entering the battlefield for the first time. In reality, it was not that his battle power had increased by much, but because he had lost his composure, he could not use much of his battle power.
Although this was not the first time Ye Xiaotian's soldiers had entered the battlefield, compared to this battle, the previous battle was not much better than a fight between bandits. This was a true battlefield, a true hell of death.
Bronze Drum and Yan Village had been taken. Seeing his army advance valiantly and energetically, Ye Xiaotian's heart was filled with pride. To him, the crusade against Yang Yinglong was no different from a great training exercise. After this war, he would have an iron army that had been tempered a hundred times, and that would be his most solid support.
General Mu Zhao of Bozhou, who had been guarding Ding Mountain, had abandoned the pass and fled when the city was breached. He had just run to Bronze Drum and had just caught his breath when Ye Xiaotian caught up. He had no choice but to flee again. Just as he reached Yan Village, Ye Xiaotian's military flag came waving in the wind. Mu Zhao did not stop until he reached Nan Mu Cave. Only then did he find his footing.
Nanmu Cave, Shanyang Cave and Jiantai Cave were actually three mountains. Each mountain had a large cave that could be used to hide troops. The terrain here was very dangerous but it was the only way to attack Lou Mountain Pass. They had to take it or the consequences would be unthinkable if the enemy cut off their retreat.
After Mu Zhao fled to Nanmu Cave, he immediately took over the defense of the three caves. His remaining troops, the garrison troops, and the farmers and commoners temporarily recruited numbered in the tens of thousands. Camps were set up all over the mountains and plains. It was a terrifying sight.
Seeing this, Ye Xiaotian knew that he couldn't force his way through, so he set up camp and waited for Liu Ting. Liu Ting personally supervised the battle. He held silver in his left hand and a large saber in his right. "Those who work will be rewarded, those who don't will be killed!"
Liu Ting personally supervised the battle. He raised the taels of silver in his left hand and the broadsword in his right. He shouted, "Those who work hard will be rewarded. Those who don't will be beheaded!" It was an undisguised enticement of money and benefits plus the threat of military law. But soldiers listened to it. The three armies fought with their lives and killed the enemy with unstoppable momentum.
Liu Ting continued to deploy troops and generals. Without batting an eyelid, he gradually moved the Ming army into the limelight in the chaotic battle. Seeing that his plan was working, Liu Ting suddenly ordered a fire. The fire burned fiercely towards the Bozhou army. The Bozhou army had no choice but to hide in the cave to prevent the fire.
They did not expect Liu Ting to attack and pile firewood at the entrance of the cave to continue burning. Although the fire did not spread into the cave, the thick smoke billowed everywhere. There were actually other vents in the cave but they were too small and could not disperse the smoke. From a distance, the vents on the three mountains looked like three large chimneys. The Bozhou army was choked to death by the smoke.
Nanmu, Goat and Jiantai caves were captured in one fell swoop. It was just that it took a lot of effort to put out the fire. Many precious trees that had grown for thousands of years were burned. Many corpses were carried out from the cave. Mu Zhao, who had escaped to this place, could not escape anymore. He was dragged out of the cave. Because he was close to the vents, he did not die. His face was just like a little ghost. The local general Wu Shanghua also fainted.
When Yang Yinglong received the news that Dingshan and Nanmu had fallen one after another, he could not help but turn pale with fright. Lou Shan Pass was the gate to Bozhou. Once it was opened, the situation would be over.
Yang Yinglong did not want to fight the enemy at Lou Shan Pass. He did not have the confidence of the court to fight the enemy in a battle of manpower. Yang Yinglong wanted to defend against the enemy, so he immediately ordered his sons Yang Chaodong, Yang Weidong and his younger brother Yang Zhu to lead a group of soldiers to attack Liu Ting from Songkan, Yudu and Luoguchi.
At the same time, he was in charge of Hailong Tun. He divided his forces to meet the troops of other routes. For a moment, he was stretched thin. He was at his wit's end. He felt that the military advisor was right. He should not have pulled back his forces but should have taken the initiative to attack. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to realize this.
The Brocade Guard had been operating in Qian for many years. How could they only do such sneaky things? Their spies played an important role at this time. Yang Chaodong, Yang Weidong, and Yang Zhu each led more than ten thousand soldiers and horses into battle. How could they hide this from their spies?
The news of the Brocade Guard quickly reached Liu Ting's desk. Because of the special relationship between Ye Xiaotian and Law Tycoon, Hong Baichuan regarded him with special respect. Therefore, he also received the news at the first moment. As soon as Ye Xiaotian received the news, he went to see Liu Ting.
Many generals in Liu Ting's tent were discussing something. As soon as they saw Ye Xiaotian come in, Liu Ting nodded at him with a smile, indicating that he should sit down and participate in the discussion. Ye Xiaotian sat down on the stool next to him.
Among these generals, Ye Xiaotian's position was the lowest. But in terms of strength, he was second only to the commander-in-chief Liu Ting. Therefore, everyone knew him. Everyone also knew that he had a good relationship with Liu Ting. As a vanguard official, he had a great responsibility, but wasn't this also giving him meritorious service? Therefore, they thought more highly of him.
Liu Ting continued the previous topic. "Our army has won consecutive battles. Our morale is high. But earlier, Yang Yinglong feigned defeat several times to lure the enemy deep in. Then, he made use of his familiarity with the terrain to outflank and ambush them, turning defeat into victory. We must guard against him! "
Hearing this, Ye Xiaotian thought that Liu Ting was having doubts because of his consecutive victories and was afraid of repeating the same mistake as when he defeated his generals. He also did not know that Yang Yinglong has divided his troops to attack. He coughed once and said, "Daren, I have just received news that Yang Yinglong's troops are divided into three groups. They are coming from Song Kan, Yu Du and Luo Gu Chi to outflank our army …"
Liu Ting laughed, "I am already aware of this matter!"
Liu Ting used his hand to draw on the sand table. On the sand table, there were many small flags of different colours. The black flag represents Yang Yinglong's army. Red, orange, yellow, green and various other colours represent the other seven armies. The flag of Liu Ting's army is red.
Liu Ting said, "Look, the armies are not progressing smoothly, especially the two armies from Guizhou. They are blocked at the southern bank of Wu River and are unable to advance an inch! Among the eight armies, only our Qijiang Road's army can march straight in. Stone Tiger Pass is just ahead, and as long as we break through it, we'll reach Yang Yinglong's doorstep: Loushan Pass! And now … "
Liu Ting stood up and took out three black flags from a box beside him. He placed them on Song Kan, Yu Du and Luo Gu Chi respectively. "Yang Chaodong is coming out of Song Kan, Yang Weidong is coming out of Yu Du and Yang Zhu is coming out of Luo Gu Chi. Looking at the overall situation, doesn't it look like they are luring the enemy deep in and setting up an ambush?"
Ye Xiaotian and the other generals looked at the sand table. Even a half-baked general like Ye Xiaotian could see the enemy's hidden killing intent according to Liu Ting's hint. He could not help but gasp.
