Arrows flew like rain, and as the mechanism clicked, short crossbow bolts were fired from the crossbow.
Although these arrows are much shorter than those shot from a longbow, they are much faster, and several can be fired in quick succession.
If multiple people are armed with crossbows, they can create a dense rain of arrows in a short time.
At this moment, a rain of arrows began to fall on this wide avenue. They came suddenly, like a violent storm, striking unexpectedly.
The arrows struck the group of soldiers, and the hastily arriving troops suffered heavy casualties immediately.
After days of travel, while not everyone in the army was completely exhausted, many were still weary.
After all, their orders were to rush to Zhongnanguan and then use the momentum of Zhongnanguan to defeat the rebel army.
Therefore, along this journey, they only stopped at night to continue their journey. When they arrived at Zhongnan Pass, the rebel army might not have arrived yet, and they might be able to rest for a while.
However, the enemy attack they encountered here made everyone realize that the Battle of Bailiyuan was over, and even the critical Zhongnan Pass had been breached!
This led them to this unexpected battle.
Among the troops firing crossbow bolts, Li Jing stood at the rear of the army, his expression calm and composed as he directed the battle.
He had already prepared himself for this battle.
We have already entered Zhongnan Pass, but we know that imperial troops are on their way from inside the pass.
The troops that came to reinforce were unaware that Zhongnan Pass had been breached, nor were they aware that troops were already continuing their southward advance—intelligence that the enemy had not obtained.
The army was to continue its advance and head straight for Nanjing, so it had to fight its way through without stopping.
That means we're about to engage in skirmishes.
An encounter battle refers to a battle that occurs when two sides suddenly meet in the same area, before they have time to deploy their forces or make tactical arrangements.
In skirmishes, the brave often prevail, because neither side has time to think about or plan for the war.
In battles where opposing armies meet in motion, the fundamental method for achieving victory is to seize the initiative.
Therefore, Li Jing's order was: "When you encounter enemy troops, shoot them directly with crossbow bolts and catch them off guard!"
This is the strategy of preemptively attacking the enemy.
This includes preemptively deploying firepower, seizing advantageous terrain, and launching an assault, with the aim of annihilating the enemy in a surprise attack or ambush.
This is a straight road, so deploying troops to launch an attack using the terrain is not feasible. Therefore, it is more appropriate to launch a surprise attack directly.
Of course, if the enemy has more troops, a surprise attack may not be effective.
It is even possible that after the initial victory, the enemy will gradually launch a counterattack, causing them to gradually fall into a disadvantageous position in subsequent battles.
But Li Jing understood one thing.
He didn't know how many enemy reinforcements there were, but he knew more than enough about how many troops his lord had.
The reinforcements sent by the imperial court were obviously inferior to those sent by our lord from Zhongnan Pass.
That is why he dared to launch the first attack with the troops he had at his disposal.
Moreover, they fought bravely and ruthlessly.
Just like now.
Amidst the whirlwind of crossbow bolts, enemy soldiers fell in droves, their screams and wails echoing throughout the land.
In addition, the enemy forces have fallen into chaos.
The soldiers scattered haphazardly, but dared not charge into the rain of arrows to break through the arrow formation.
This is like an old farmer digging open a rat's nest that lives under the farmland with a shovel.
The mice stayed in their nest, never imagining that one day the farmer would dig it up with a shovel.
Normally, when living in a rat's burrow, if the large rat in the burrow senses danger approaching, it will squeak a few times and bare its teeth in an attempt to scare away the intruder.
But the shovel that suddenly came down had already dug through the soil and broken up the rat's nest.
From then on, even the fiercest rats dared not squeak intimidation, or climb up the shovel handle to bite the old farmer.
Therefore, in this critical moment, the rats could only frantically flee with the mice.
Of course, faced with life and death, the rats probably wouldn't care about the mice.
At this point, whoever runs the fastest can escape; if you're a step too slow, you'll get hit with a shovel.
And this is exactly what we are doing right now.
Amidst the crossbow bolts raining down on the troops, the lieutenant shouted to their commander, Jin Ye:
"General, the rebels have actually reached this place!"
"These crossbow bolts are coming with great force. I don't know how many rebels have gotten in. What should we do?"
The commander was named Jin Ye, who was about thirty years old. He was tall and, although wearing armor added to his heroic air, he was somewhat bulky.
His face was covered in sweat, and his pale face showed visible panic and fear.
Upon hearing this, he screamed in a shrill voice:
"Zhongnan Pass has fallen, and the rebels have even advanced into our territory. What kind of support can we possibly provide now!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Run! There's no way to provide support!"
He pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and added a few more words:
"General Zhenguo told us to go to Zhongnan Pass to block the rebels, not to fight them here!"
"Retreat! Retreat! Who knows how many rebels have entered the pass!"
"Let's go first! We'll inform the General of the State before making any further plans!"
"The General Who Guards the Nation surely knows how to fight!"
With a roar, he spurred his horse and galloped away without looking back.
Thus, this battle cannot be considered a formal engagement, but the commander-in-chief has already chosen to flee.
So the reinforcements that had rushed over set off on their way back.
Arrows rained down, and screams and howls mingled together.
Li Jing slightly raised his chin and shouted:
"Don't stop!"
"The enemy is trying to escape, and their morale has weakened. Keep chasing them all the way!"
——
Several hours later.
Another army heading towards Zhongnanguan heard shouts coming from ahead, and soon after, they also saw the disheveled and frantically fleeing troops.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"The rebels have breached Zhongnan Pass! They're coming!"
"What?! Zhongnanguan has been breached?!"
"It's broken! It's broken! They're all fucking coming!"
"Don't go, you'll just be throwing your life away!"
"What?! How strong are the rebel forces? Are they many?!"
"The crossbow bolts haven't stopped firing; they've been chasing us relentlessly. You can imagine how many troops they have!"
"So fast!? Xiong Qian is still at Baili Plain! The defenses of Zhongnan Pass..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by shouts from afar:
"If you're not going to retreat, then go fight! Don't block my way!" Jin Ye shouted angrily.
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