Southeast for ten thousand years, at the hour of Si (9-11 AM).
Yang Chao stood on a makeshift platform in the camp, looking at the rising dust in the southeast.
Zhang Tao's striker is already clearly visible.
He held a spear that had just been delivered from Wannian City and still smelled of tung oil. Beside him were some old but still usable armor, swords, and bows, as well as twenty cans of fierce fire oil and thirty dark thunderbolts.
The atmosphere in the camp was extremely tense, yet strangely it also ignited a fervent zeal for a do-or-die battle.
There is no way to retreat; we can only move forward.
Although Zhao Muyun's "aid" was a drop in the ocean, it at least showed one thing: in the short term, Wannian City would not become a dagger in the back.
"Brothers!" Yang Chao roared, his voice echoing throughout the front camp, "Do you see them? The imperial court's lackeys sent to kill us have arrived! They think we're lambs to the slaughter!"
"Tell them we are wolves! We are tigers! If they want our lives, they'll have to pay with ten times their blood!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The suppressed roars of tens of thousands of people merged into a wave of sound, soaring into the sky, carrying endless resentment and determination.
Almost simultaneously, to the southwest, at the exit of the Ziwu Valley, dust rose and banners were faintly visible, as if a large army was marching out.
On the west gate tower of Wannian, Zhao Muyun's command flag fluttered high, and the soldiers on the city wall wore gleaming armor that shone coldly in the sunlight.
Sun Han, the vanguard of Zhang Tao's army, stood on a low hill, looking at Yang Chao's camp ahead, which was ready for battle and filled with murderous intent. He glanced at the suspicious smoke and dust on his flank, and then looked at the immovable Wannian City in the distance. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"General, shall we fight or not?" The lieutenant swallowed hard.
Sun Han wiped the reins tightly, his palms sweating profusely.
beat?
Yang Chao was clearly prepared to fight to the death, with unknown enemy forces on his flank and Wannian City's attitude ambiguous from the rear.
Not fighting?
How should I explain this to Zhang Tao?
If the imperial edict is true, Yang Chao is already a traitor, and delaying the battle is also a crime.
In the instant he hesitated—
A muffled bugle call suddenly rang out in Yang Chao's camp!
Immediately afterwards, the camp gates swung open! It wasn't a full-scale attack, but rather about three thousand elite infantrymen, arranged in tight formations.
With shields like a wall and spears like a forest, they pressed forward with heavy steps, leading the charge towards Sun Hanjun's front line!
This is a test, but also the prelude to the final battle!
On either side of these infantrymen, about five hundred cavalrymen on each side began to slowly deploy, their hooves clattering and kicking up dust.
What's even more alarming is that Yang Chaojun brought out more than a dozen makeshift shield carts. Behind these carts, one could vaguely see some pottery jars and torches emitting blue smoke...
Sun Han's pupils suddenly contracted.
What is that?
Could it be... the firearms that Zhao Muyun supposedly used to defeat the Tartars?
How could Yang Chao have that?
"Form ranks! Defend! Archers, prepare—"
Sun Han's roar carried a barely perceptible tremor.
At this moment, the smoke signals soared into the sky!
A blood-red dawn has arrived.
This sudden change, which began beneath the walls of Wannian City, will inevitably spread rapidly, affecting the entire chessboard of the world.
Zhao Muyun stood on the city wall, coldly watching the swords about to clash in the distance. He knew that the stone he had thrown had stirred up the expected huge wave.
Next, amidst these towering waves, we will remain calm and collected, preparing to cast an even larger net. Act One: Dawn's Smoke
The morning mist, like a veil, enveloped the open fields southeast of Wannian City.
Sun Han's three thousand vanguard troops had formed a tight tortoise-shell formation, with shields interlocking and spears peeking out from the gaps, gleaming coldly in the dim morning light.
The archers lined up at the rear of the formation, arrowheads pointing diagonally into the air, bowstrings like full moons.
Three hundred paces away, Yang Chao's three thousand vanguard infantrymen approached with orderly and heavy steps.
These soldiers mostly came from the Jiannan Mountains. They were not particularly tall, but they were exceptionally skilled and capable.
They wore worn-out leather armor and carried extended iron spears.
This was one of the "aids" received from Zhao Muyun. It was three feet longer than an ordinary spear, and although the spearhead was somewhat rusty, it was sharpened.
"Hold your ground!" Sun Han shouted hoarsely from the high platform in the center of the formation, "No arrows are to be fired without my order!"
He could sense the pervasive panic within the ranks.
The soldiers opposite burned with an almost insane determination in their eyes. It was not the bravery of an ordinary battlefield, but the rage of a cornered beast with no way out.
Even more terrifying were the shield carts emitting blue smoke behind the formation—could those really contain the legendary thunderbolts capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks?
Yang Chao stood on the earthen platform of his main camp, gazing at Sun Han's army formation from afar.
Standing beside him were Yang Hong and several trusted generals.
"General, let the firearms go in!" a young general exclaimed excitedly. "Use the thunderbolts to blast open their shells!"
"No rush." Yang Chao's gaze was cold. "The firearms Zhao Muyun gave us are to bolster our courage, not for us to squander."
"Twenty cans of fierce fire oil and thirty small thunderbolts sound like a lot, but in reality, they'll be gone in a few rounds. They need to be used wisely."
He pointed to the two flanks of Sun Han's army formation: "See? Zhang Tao is cautious in his military tactics. Sun Han's tortoise-shell formation is solid, but the two flanks are weak."
"Where are their cavalry? They're probably hiding in the woods behind us, waiting to flank us when we attack."
"Then let's..."
"Attack first, but not with full force," Yang Chao sneered. "Have the vanguard advance, making it appear as if they are launching a strong attack on the central army. The cavalry on both flanks advance but maintain distance, making it appear as if they are about to encircle them. Lure their cavalry out."
The bugle sounds again.
Yang Chaojun's three thousand infantrymen at the front suddenly accelerated!
Spears were laid flat, and they advanced like a forest, their footsteps thundering across the earth. The cavalry on both flanks also started moving at the same time, splitting into several groups and flanking Sun Han's army in an arc.
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