After receiving an affirmative answer, all the generals of the Dragon City army in the central command tent burst into laughter.
The Nanyue Kingdom's garrison in Yongzhou City actually abandoned its defense of the city and chose to go out and fight. Wasn't this exactly what the Longcheng army wanted?
This is truly heaven's help!
General Pang Xianchu lost his appetite and immediately put down his bowl to begin arranging his troops, saying, "All generals, listen to my command!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
Pang Xianchu said, "Deputy General Fan Wuji, I hereby order you to lead 10,000 cavalry to flank and encircle the main army from the left flank."
"Deputy General Tang Ziyi, I hereby order you to lead 10,000 cavalry to flank and outflank the main army from the right flank."
"This general will personally lead the central army out of the camp to engage the Nan Yue wolf soldiers in a direct battle!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
After giving instructions to his two lieutenants, Pang Xianchu prepared to don his armor.
At this moment, Qi Jiguang, the naval admiral who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up: "General Pang, our Shenji Battalion can also go into battle!"
Um?
Pang Xianchu turned around and suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten to assign combat missions to the Shenji Battalion.
But then he thought about it again. The next battle would be a direct confrontation with the infantry and cavalry of the South Vietnamese garrison in the open field. It seemed that the red cannons of the Shenji Battalion would be useless.
However, Pang Xianchu patiently explained, "Your Excellency, it's like this: the next battle between our army and the Southern Yue garrison will take place in the open field, and it's highly likely that both sides will engage in cavalry combat."
"The red-coated cannons of the Shenji Battalion weigh over a thousand catties. I am worried that the Shenji Battalion's mobility will be limited when fighting in the field. Moreover, our southern expeditionary army should be more adept at dealing with the infantry and cavalry of the Nanyue Kingdom!"
Then, Pang Xianchu tentatively suggested, "Commander-in-Chief, you and the brothers of the Divine Machine Battalion have come a long way and must be tired from the journey. Why don't you observe the battle from the main camp until the army needs to attack Yongzhou City?"
"This general will personally invite the Commander-in-Chief and the brothers of the Divine Machine Battalion to come and assist us with their red-coated cannons!"
Although what Pang Xianchu said was true, the Shenji Battalion was indeed less mobile than infantry and cavalry in field operations.
However, as the commander of the Shenji Battalion, who was entrusted with the emperor's orders, and since this was the first major battle the Shenji Battalion had participated in since its establishment, Qi Jiguang was naturally unwilling to let the opportunity slip by.
He looked at Pang Xianchu with a sincere expression and said firmly, "General Pang, please send the Shenji Battalion into battle. The Shenji Battalion can be incorporated into the central army and placed in the first echelon to launch long-range attacks on the enemy's infantry and cavalry!"
"Believe me, the performance of the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannons on the battlefield will certainly not disappoint the general!"
Forehead--
Pang Xianchu hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted Qi Jiguang's suggestion: "Alright, since the Commander-in-Chief and the brothers of the Divine Machine Battalion are not afraid of hard work, let's do as the Commander-in-Chief says and go make your own preparations!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
It was noon.
The South Vietnamese garrison, which had taken the initiative to leave the city to fight, was now less than ten miles away from the camp of the Longcheng expeditionary army.
Li Shiyu, the crown prince of Nanyue, wearing heavy armor, was riding his horse in the middle of the marching army.
The army of the Southern Yue Kingdom still maintained its long, single-file marching formation.
Although it was a full-scale attack, Li Shiyu still left 20,000 elite troops in Yongzhou City. His initiative to leave the city to seek battle was to annihilate the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army outside the city.
At the very least, the goal is to achieve a stalemate with the southern expeditionary army of Longcheng, in any case, we don't want the Emperor and that scoundrel Chen Huai'an to negotiate peace.
"Report—"
"Your Highness, the rebel army of Longcheng has taken the initiative to leave its camp and form ranks, gathering in the Wanfenglin area!"
At this time, the scouts of the Nanyue Kingdom's vanguard also discovered the movements of the southern expeditionary army in Longcheng and reported it to Crown Prince Li Shiyu immediately.
Um!
Li Shiyu, mounted on horseback, nodded arrogantly and ordered, "Pass down the order: the army will change from the Single-Line Long Snake Formation to the Heaven, Earth, and Three Powers Formation."
"Tell General Shi to lead the cavalry ahead to guard the area, lest the Dragon City bandits try to trick us!"
"Main army, maintain formation and increase marching speed!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
After giving instructions to the messenger, Li Shiyu also spurred his horse on, urging it to gallop forward.
Li Shiyu had anticipated that the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army would take the initiative to leave their camp to fight. Their simple camp was no match for the Southern Yue army's attack, and a single fire attack would be enough to turn the camp to ashes.
In the previous few small-scale military operations in which Li Shiyu ordered surprise attacks on the main camp of the southern expeditionary army in Longcheng, fire attacks were the primary method.
However, because each raid only involved small groups of cavalry, the results were minimal.
With 100,000 Nanyue wolf soldiers attacking, they can completely surround the camp of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army from all sides. When the rockets are fired from all directions, it will be strange if the camp of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army is not burned into a sea of fire.
Therefore, if Pang Xianchu, the commander of the Longcheng army, wasn't stupid, he wouldn't sit idly by in the camp waiting to die.
In addition, after more than half a month of probing attacks, Li Shiyu believed that he had figured out the true combat strength of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army.
He also longed to lead his Nanyue wolf soldiers to defeat Longcheng Polu New Army on the main battlefield, thus proving his worth.
Another half hour passed.
The Longcheng army and the wolf soldiers of the Nanyue Kingdom finally met in the Wanfenglin area, which had a wide view and flat terrain.
Both armies' cavalry were keeping a watchful eye on their left and right flanks, buying time for their infantry to assemble.
When Li Shiyu arrived on horseback, his infantry chariots and archers had already assembled and were making their final preparations for battle with murderous intent.
However, the southern expeditionary army of Longcheng on the opposite side was strangely absent from assembling chariots and archers.
Only rows of things covered with red cloth were neatly arranged in front of the two armies.
Between the two armies, there was a wide open area of two or three miles as a buffer, which was enough for Li Shiyu and a group of generals from the Southern Yue Kingdom to clearly see the movements of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army.
A general from the Southern Yue Kingdom sneered, "Are the rebels in Longcheng across the way planning to perform a rainmaking ritual? Underneath that red cloth, are they all women?"
Hahaha!
These words immediately drew laughter from the Southern Yue troops.
Suddenly, the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army opposite them swept up the red cloth, revealing the true appearance of rows of red-clad cannons.
However, for the South Vietnamese generals who had never seen the red cannons before, the actions of the Longcheng expeditionary army still seemed ridiculous, as if they were there to make a joke.
Crown Prince Li Shiyu sneered and immediately ordered: "Chariots and archers, attack! Cavalry, guard the flanks!"
At a command, drums and horns sounded throughout the Nanyue army ranks, and chariots and crossbows attacked in unison, gradually approaching the camp of the southern expeditionary army in Longcheng.
Almost simultaneously, the cavalry of the Nanyue Kingdom also began to move.
On the other side, Qi Jiguang, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, also gave the order: "Shenji Battalion, fire!"
"fire!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com