Chapter 507: A Thousand Shots
When a trace of fish belly was revealed on the edge of the sky, the front of the mountain pass guarded by the Cham army was already covered with corpses, and blood flowed like a river.
On the main road, in the mountains, in the woods, countless soldiers and rebel soldiers waved their weapons and shouted desperately, blood was splashed, stumps and broken arms flew sideways, the scene looked extremely bloody and violent.
In this frenzied killing, people fell down screaming one after another and never got up, like the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe, and every dance took away many lives.
"Kill!" Just when the two sides of the fight were evenly matched, and neither of them could kill the other, a group of rebels under black pressure poured out from the mountain pass, and one of the rebel generals in the lead was Fan You, who raised the knife in his hand with red eyes and shouted loudly to the rebels behind him, "As long as we rush over, we can get out of the current predicament, otherwise we can only wait here for death!" β
With Fan You's shout, the rebels who followed him waved their weapons and shouted and rushed towards the soldiers of the Champa Army in the melee, and soon joined the battle.
In the face of the rebels' reinforcements, the Cham army, which had been fighting all night, could no longer resist, and was immediately dispersed by the rebels' reinforcements and retreated one after another.
Looking at the Champa army that began to retreat, Fan You couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, originally he thought that the Champa army was easy to deal with, but he found out that he was wrong when he had already fought each other, the resistance of the Champa army was very tenacious far beyond his imagination, so until now he has not been able to break through the defense line of the Champa army.
Li Li had already led a large army of rebels to this mountain pass, but was blocked behind the mountain pass, and was extremely annoyed that Fan You failed to break through the defense line of the Zhancheng army in time.
Obviously, because there are many secret agents of the Ming army in Yi'an Mansion, this secret breakthrough of the rebels in Ngan Mansion cannot hide the Ming army in Thanh Hoa Mansion and Yanzhou Mansion for a long time, once the Ming army comes to its senses, then the rebels will fall into the siege of the Ming army, and the consequences are unimaginable.
Originally, Li Li thought that Fan You's command was unfavorable, but later he found that the resistance of the Champa army was very tenacious, which caused great trouble to the rebels, which made him extremely annoyed, and he never expected that the rebels could be blocked by the Champa army, and then watched the time pass bit by bit.
For Li Li, time is now the most precious, he believes that the Champa army has asked the Ming army of Yanzhou City for help, but the Ming army of Yanzhou City will never dare to act rashly before the situation is clear, which gives the rebels a rare opportunity to escape, as long as they cross the mountain pass and travel more than ten miles to enter the territory of the Nanzhang Kingdom.
Li Li would not have imagined that because the rebels burned and looted and did whatever they wanted after attacking the city, the soldiers of the city occupied the city with the same hatred of the enemy, and in addition to the careful training in the past six months, the combat effectiveness had risen to a higher level, and it was no longer the same as the army when the rebels attacked the city last year, especially the will to fight.
After a night of waiting, Li Li had lost his patience and ordered the main battle force of the rebels to be assembled, and Fan You himself led the army to attack, making sure to defeat the soldiers of the city and open a passage for the rebels to withdraw, otherwise he would come to meet him.
Fan You had no way to retreat at this time, so he took the lead in defeating the Champa army in one fell swoop, so that the rebels could flee along the way.
"The two big chiefs, the Jiaozhi rebels have increased their troops in a big way, and it is difficult for our army to resist." Just as Dogesa and Lundes were discussing the current battle situation with several generals, a Champa soldier hurriedly walked into the big tent and knelt in front of them and shouted a loud message.
Hearing this, everyone at the scene was immediately shocked, in order to resist the attack of the Jiaozhi rebels, the Champa army has dispatched 50,000 people, and now there are only 10,000 people left in the camp, no one thought that the number of rebels would be so large, it seems that they really want to break through from here.
Although the situation of the rebels is not what it used to be, there are still more than 100,000 people, and there are tens of thousands of elites who followed Li Li to raise troops, and the 60,000 horses and horses that occupy the city alone cannot be stopped.
"We've done our best, let's withdraw, if we fight again, all the people we brought will be exhausted!" Lunders was the first to recover from the shock, and said to Dogesa with a blank face, "I think General Li will be considerate of us." β
"I also want to withdraw, but don't forget that we have signed a military order, once the rebels escape from here, then they will be dealt with by military law!" Dogesa shook his head when he heard this, and looked at Lunders with a grim expression, he originally thought that he would be able to hold out until noon, but who would have thought that the rebels would attack like crazy, making the defense line of the Cham army crumbling.
"You can't blame us, now it seems that the rebels have concentrated all their forces to attack us, don't talk about us, even if the Ming army comes, it can't be stopped." At this time, a general of Champa couldn't help but complain.
His words immediately resonated with the generals present at the city, who nodded their heads one after another, believing that it was impossible for the 60,000 people in the city alone to withstand the rebels' army of more than 100,000.
Dogsa's brows furrowed tightly, he knew what the generals were thinking, to be honest, it was not easy for the Cham army to fight to this point, after all, the rebels were numerous, and if they continued to fight, they would either be wiped out or the troops would collapse.
"Since we have already made a military order, we must defend this place, otherwise we will not be despised and ridiculed?" Having said that, Dogesa had to continue to fight with the rebels, otherwise these generals of the Champa army might not be able to return to Champa, and then his face sank, and he said loudly.
Due to the current enemy, Dogesa did not tell SΓΉ Lundes and others what was happening in the city, so as not to fluctuate in the morale of the army, and they would undoubtedly be more passive at that time.
At this moment, Dogesa can be said to have no choice, only to hold on to it can have a glimmer of life, compared with the Jiaozhi rebels, the Ming army is obviously more terrifying.
I don't know why, there is an idiom in Dogesa's mind - to seek skin with the tiger, maybe he was wrong from the beginning, he should not have proposed to the dead king of Champa to assist the Ming army in attacking the Jiaozhi rebels, which led to a series of follow-up incidents, and then made Champa fall into the current predicament.
"Dealing with the Jiaozhi rebels is the business of the Ming army, and we can't hold back and trap ourselves in it." For Dogesa's decision, Lundes did not agree, the main reason why the army of Champa entered Jiaozhi was to assist the Ming army in fighting against the rebels, and he was not willing to let the Champa army and the Jiaozhi rebels break the net, so that the Ming army took advantage of it in vain.
Seeing that Lunders did not agree with his decision, Dogesa's brows suddenly furrowed, he knew that Lunders wanted to preserve his strength for the Champa Kingdom, but Li Yuntian was watching from the sidelines, which would make them retreat?
"Report, the Ming army is less than two miles away from here." Just as Dogxa was about to make a showdown with Lundus, a Champa sergeant suddenly broke into the tent and knelt on one knee to pray.
"What?" Dogesa was stunned when he heard this, his eyes were full of astonishment, if the Ming army came now, wouldn't he have set off last night, could it be that he misunderstood Li Yuntian, Li Yuntian didn't see death and didn't save him?
"How many people came?" Lunders looked happy and couldn't help but ask.
"Thirty thousand, led by General Wang, and the general army is in the back." The sergeant hurriedly replied in a loud voice.
"Great!" Lundes couldn't help but be overjoyed, which showed that the main force of the Ming army in Yanzhou Capital had all come to support, and with this new force to help in the battle, the Jiaozhi rebels would have no way to escape.
"Quick, concentrate all your forces, and be sure to stop the rebels." Subsequently, Lunds ordered a general of Zhancheng on the side in a winning streak, "Tell everyone that the main force of the Ming army has come, and victory is just around the corner!" β
"Yes!" The general bowed to Lundus and Dogosa, and led the rebel generals in the tent to walk out quickly, making sure to stop the rebels before the Ming army arrived.
"Let's go, let's go meet the commander-in-chief." After the generals left, Lunders smiled and said to Dogesa, who was in deep thought with a stern expression, that Li Yuntian was the highest official in Jiaozhi, and they should go to greet him.
Dogesa was pondering Li Yuntian's intention to send troops so quickly, when he heard this, he smiled at Lunders, made a gesture of please, and the two left side by side, leaving the camp to meet Li Yuntian.
As the last 10,000 people of the Cham army were put into the battlefield, especially after the news of the imminent arrival of the Ming army spread among the Cham soldiers, the morale of the Cham soldiers was greatly boosted, cheered in unison, and then fought bravely, blocking the progress of the rebels, making it impossible for the rebels to move forward.
"What's going on?" Seeing that he was about to break the defense line of the Champa army, Fan Yougang, who had been highly nervous, was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but find that the Champa army suddenly became tougher, and many Champa soldiers actually began to cheer, which made him confused, and he didn't know what was going on, so he hurriedly asked a rebel general on the side.
"My lord, those soldiers who occupy the city indicate that the main force of the army has arrived for reinforcements!" The rebel general knew the Cham dialect, and after listening carefully to the cheers of those Cham soldiers, his face suddenly turned pale, and he said to Fan You with a frightened expression.
"This is impossible, how could the Ming army be so reckless and rashly send troops to rescue before the situation is clear?" Fan You was taken aback, if calculated from the time, the arrival of the Ming army at this time meant that they set off after receiving the report from the Zhancheng army, otherwise it would be impossible to come here so quickly.
But how is this possible? Could it be that the Ming army was not afraid that the rebels would use the strategy of diverting the tiger from the mountain to transfer it away, and then break through from the Ming army's defense area.
"Quick, tell the prince." Fan You subconsciously suspected that this was a rumor deliberately spread by the generals of the Champa city, in order to stabilize the position of the Champa army, but he could not be sure of the truth or falsehood of the information that the Ming army had rushed to reinforce him, so he hurriedly asked the herald to pass it on to Li Litong, who was following behind.
Li Li thought that this time the rebels would be able to smoothly break the defense line of the Zhancheng army, so he was extremely shocked and surprised to receive the news that the Ming army was coming, and his face turned pale in an instant, he could not have imagined that the Ming army would arrive so quickly.
If this is true, doesn't it mean that the rebels' escape has been blocked? The rebels and the Cham army have been fighting until now, and they are physically and mentally exhausted, and they are simply unable to fight against the Ming army with strong combat effectiveness.
Moreover, since the Ming army launched a counteroffensive, due to the many military towns of the Lianke rebels, the rebels have become afraid of the Ming army, and the Ming army's arrival now is undoubtedly a huge blow to the morale of the rebels.
"Quick, quickly go find out if the army has really arrived, and come to report as soon as there is news!" After experiencing the initial stunned, Li Li came back to his senses and said to the sergeant who came to report the news with a grim face, he did not believe that the Ming army would come to the rescue of the Champa army, maybe this was a trick used by the general of the Champa to stabilize the situation.
However, as the vanguard of the Ming army appeared on the battlefield with murderous violence and launched a fierce offensive against the rebels fighting the Champa army, Li Li's luck was completely shattered.
The rebel soldiers were also affected, their morale plummeted, and they were defeated in the attacks of the Ming and Champa armies, and finally overcame Fan You's control, forming a great rout, scrambling to flee backwards.
Fan You commanded his own soldiers to kill dozens of fleeing rebels in a row, but still did not stop the rebels from fleeing, as the saying goes, defeat is like a mountain, how can it be so easy to make those rebel soldiers who have lost the will to fight go back to fight?
"Alas!" Looking at the rebel soldiers who were rushing and hugging their heads, Fan You knew that the general trend was gone, and fled with the rout with a lonely expression.
The Ming army and the Cham army naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity to annihilate the enemy, so they chased after the rebel rout, killing those routs in fear, and their souls were scattered, and they rushed towards the direction of Yi'an City.
"Lord Commander!" At the gate of the camp of the Champa army, Dogesa and Lundes led several Champa generals to bow to Li Yuntian, who came on horseback.
It stands to reason that when Li Yuntian arrives, all the generals of the Champa army must go to the camp gate to greet them, but because it is now a critical period to fight with the rebels, most of the generals in the city are leading their troops to fight the rebels, so there are only a few generals who remain in the camp.
"You have worked hard, you have blocked the escape of the Jiaozhi rebels in this battle, you should take the first credit, this official will play the emperor, please ask the emperor to reward all meritorious ministers." Li Yuntian turned over and dismounted, and said to Dogessa and Lunders with a smile.
Seeing this, Lei Ting, Wu Qian, the generals of the Ming army, and the guards who were following Li Yuntian got off their horses one after another, and then stepped forward to hug him.
"The person who made the first contribution is none other than the chief soldier, if it weren't for the chief soldier's judgment of the situation, the opportunity to make a decision, and the timely dispatch of reinforcements, I am afraid that we would have died under the sword of the Jiaozhi rebels." Dogesa was guessing Li Yuntian's intention to send troops to rescue, and seeing that Li Yuntian had a high opinion of the Cham army, he smiled and complimented Li Yuntian.
"This officer is just icing on the cake, and you are the ones who are fighting a bloody battle with the rebels." Li Yuntian waved his hand disappreciatively, smiled and entered the camp with Dogesa, Lunders and the others.
"What's going on?" Taking advantage of the opportunity for Li Yuntian and Lunders to talk and laugh, Dogesa deliberately slowed down his pace, walked side by side with Wu Qian, who was following behind, and asked in a low voice, in his opinion, Li Yuntian's behavior was too abnormal.
Wu Qian's cheeks couldn't help but turn red when she heard this, and she shook her head at Dogsa, to be honest, she didn't know why Li Yuntian, who had always been resolute before, suddenly changed his mind.
Not only that, Wu Qian saw the terrible tactical literacy of the Ming army for the first time, especially the Xiaowu army, which left a deep impression on her.
Under Li Yuntian's order to rescue the Champa army, the 30,000 Ming troops immediately went into battle lightly, and they did not bring anything except weapons, medicinal herbs, and two days' dry rations.
At first, the 30,000 horses of the Ming army were still running together, but later the shape gradually changed, and the march speed of the 20,000 Xiaowu army was significantly faster than that of the other 10,000 local guards, and the distance between the two sides gradually widened.
When the Xiaowu army arrived at the battle, the Ming army of the 10,000 local guards was still twenty miles away from the battlefield, and in Wu Qian's opinion, the marching speed of the Ming army of the 10,000 local guards was already very fast, even the elite troops of Zhancheng were only so, which showed the strength of the Xiaowu army.