After Wu Sanjia killed Huang Silang, the Minister of War, he immediately assembled more than 30,000 light and heavy cavalry from the Tiger Warriors New Army and, under the cover of night, left the city and headed straight for Yingzhou City, which was a hundred miles away.
In order not to disturb the Dragon City army outside the city, Wu Sanjia even ordered his cavalry soldiers to wrap their warhorses' hooves with cotton cloth and quietly leave the city.
Only after completely leaving the territory of Mozhou did he order all cavalry soldiers to march at full speed.
The distance between Ying and Mo prefectures is no more than a hundred miles.
For cavalry, at full speed, it would take only three hours to travel from Mozhou to Yingzhou.
Wu Sanjia led more than 30,000 cavalrymen and arrived outside Yingzhou City at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) in the middle of the night.
Tang Ziyi, the Tiger-like new army adjutant stationed in Yingzhou, was awakened from his sleep by the city's commander from his warm bed in the general's mansion.
When Tang Ziyi heard General Wu Sanjia calling for the city gates outside, his first thought was that something terrible had happened—Mozhou City had fallen!
He didn't even have time to put on his armor; dressed in civilian clothes, he picked up his sword and rushed to the city gate of Yingzhou, personally leading the horse and putting it in the stirrups for General Wu Sanjia.
Tang Ziyi, panting heavily, said cautiously, "I was unaware of your late-night visit, General. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly!"
Wu Sanjia said, "This general has just received the Empress Dowager's decree, ordering my Tiger Warriors to enter the capital to defend the emperor and eliminate the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui and his faction!"
"To march to the capital to defend the emperor?"
Tang Ziyi, the garrison commander of Yingzhou, paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "General, shall we depart now?"
Um!
Wu Sanjia nodded and said, "General Tang, I order you to immediately assemble all the Tiger Warriors in Yingzhou City. The entire army will set off for the capital to defend the emperor in three hours!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
The next day.
The Longcheng army is assembling outside Mozhou City. Following the orders of Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, the army will split into two routes to directly attack Yingzhou.
"Report—"
"Your Highness Prince Jin, the enemy troops inside Mozhou City are gathering and forming ranks outside the city!"
Just as Chen Huai'an was about to personally lead an army of 200,000 to attack Yingzhou, he suddenly received a military intelligence report from a messenger.
Um?
Chen Huai'an frowned slightly and immediately stopped what he was doing.
At this moment, Deputy Commander Chang Yuchun also rushed over and reported to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin in the central command tent from a distance: "Your Highness, the Imperial Tiger Army in Mozhou City is planning to break out!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an frowned even more deeply.
As he spoke, Chang Yuchun had already walked into the central command tent, panting heavily as he said, "Early this morning, the Imperial Tiger Army in Mozhou City came out in full force and assembled in formation outside the city."
"This subordinate has already issued the order, instructing the vanguard, central army, and left and right flank garrisons to form ranks and meet the enemy, in order to prevent the Tiger Warriors from launching a surprise attack and disrupting the main force's formation!"
Chen Huai'an immediately asked, "Where is Wu Sanjia?"
Chang Yuchun said, "Your Highness, we did not see the bandit general Wu Sanjia. The man commanding the troops under the walls of Mozhou today is Wu Sanjia's deputy, Zhao Kui!"
snort!
Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an snorted coldly and said with a smile, "Just as I expected, Wu Sanjia must have led the elite troops from Mozhou City to Yingzhou overnight!"
"If I'm not mistaken, are there no Tiger Warrior cavalrymen assembled and arrayed beneath the walls of Mozhou City?"
Forehead!
Chang Yuchun pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that it really is!"
"That's right!"
Chen Huai'an made a decisive decision and ordered, "Pass down the order: tell Pang Xianchu and Fan Wuji not to rush to Yingzhou with the Dragon City Iron Cavalry and the Xuanjia Army."
"Don't rush to set off with the 200,000 soldiers from Longcheng who have been transferred to Yingzhou. Turn your forces around and wipe out the Tiger Legion outside Mozhou City first!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Chang Yuchun immediately gave the order to assemble a large army and form a battle formation to meet the enemy.
at the same time.
Outside Mozhou City, the 120,000-strong Tiger Warriors of the Great New Dynasty, who were left to guard the city, had already assembled outside the city under the command of Vice General Zhao Kui, preparing to launch an attack on the Dragon City army besieging the city.
It turned out that after Wu Sanjia led the elite cavalry of the Tiger Warriors out of the city last night, Zhao Kui, the deputy general, immediately realized that he had been abandoned by the general.
Once General Wu Sanjia transfers all the Tiger Warriors from Yingzhou City, which forms a strategic defensive position, and heads south to the capital to defend the emperor, Mozhou City, which he is left behind, will truly become an isolated city.
Although there are still 120,000 elite troops in the city, and the city's food supplies are enough to last for a year and a half.
But what about a year or two later?
Who can remember that within the city of Mozhou, there was still a fierce new army of the Great Xin Dynasty holding out?
How could Chen Huai'an possibly leave his bedside to someone else to sleep soundly?
Even more critically, if the Tiger Warriors left behind in the city were to learn the truth, the morale of the troops would be low, but a mutiny on the battlefield would be a much bigger problem!
Therefore, Deputy General Zhao Kui made a decisive decision: while the soldiers inside the city were still unaware of the situation and their morale was high, he would take the initiative to lead his troops out of the city to break through and fight.
He sacrificed the lives of 100,000 elite troops to save the lives of his 20,000 trusted soldiers.
It was just past 9 AM.
On the city wall of Mozhou, Zhao Kui, the deputy general of the Tiger Warriors New Army, wearing a bright armor, personally beat the drum to cheer on the 100,000 Tiger Warriors New Army soldiers who were going out to fight.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Woohoo—
Accompanied by the deep, powerful beat of war drums and the long, drawn-out sound of horns.
Beneath the city walls, 100,000 elite Tiger Warriors launched an attack using the "Heaven, Earth, and Man Formation," advancing step by step towards the besieging Dragon City army camp.
Since all the light and heavy cavalry in Mozhou City had been taken away by General Wu Sanjia.
Therefore, the Tiger Warriors' new army's Three Talents Formation was somewhat incomplete, and the scouts who were originally responsible for guarding the two flanks had now been replaced by chariots pulled by draft horses.
On the chariots were large crossbows with arrows nocked.
At the very front of the Tiger Warriors' new army formation were 20,000 archers and crossbowmen;
In the center was a leaping squad of 30,000 axemen;
Finally, there were 50,000 mixed-unit troops.
As for Zhao Kui, the commander of the troops, he was stationed on the city wall of Mozhou, where he and his 20,000 trusted soldiers stayed to guard the city.
On the Longcheng side, after discovering that the enemy troops inside the city had come out in full force and dared to take the initiative to attack the army camp, the army immediately made targeted deployments.
Liu Ziyu, deputy general of the Longcheng Expeditionary Army, personally led 150,000 troops out of the city to meet the enemy.
On either side of the main camp were the Ironclad Heavy Cavalry and the Black Armored Light Cavalry, who had received orders from the Prince of Jin to return to the battlefield.
Both armies' powerful bows and crossbows were already poised to fire.
Once the enemy enters firing range, a volley of arrows can be unleashed to reap their lives.
One thousand steps!
Five hundred steps!
"Fire the crossbow bolts!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
When the infantry of the two armies were less than 500 paces apart, the crossbow carts on the Tiger Warriors' chariots and the large crossbow carts placed outside the camp by the Dragon City troops all received the order to fire arrows at the same time.
In an instant, a barrage of arrows was unleashed.
The crossbow bolts, as thick as spear shafts, smashed into the enemy formation, creating gaps in their lines.
Thousands of soldiers from both armies died on the battlefield before they even saw the enemy.
"Soldiers of the Great Xin Tiger Army, the time has come to annihilate the rebels of Longcheng and earn your rewards! Kill!"
"Soldiers of the Dragon City Army, the time has come to wipe out the Tiger Legion rebels and expand the territory for His Highness Prince Jin! Kill!"
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both armies, like two surging torrents meeting on a narrow path, collided fiercely without any suspense.
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