"Attack with all your strength! Be sure to hold off their magicians!" Shao Diantai ordered to his team of magicians.
Even if a part of them were sent back to deal with the magicians in Nanjing City, there would still be one-third more magicians in the sky above Beidaying than there were in the Tenth Legion. This was the reason why Ding Kui had always been calm.
The 93rd Division rushed into the Beida Camp. The defense line in the camp began to loosen, but the Yanyue Formation in the center was still as stable as Mount Tai.
Wu Huo organized 4,000 men to attack the Yanyue Formation, but only killed and wounded more than 1,000 infantrymen in the front row. Wang Chou commanded the remaining 3,000 people to stay firmly stuck a hundred steps in front of the general platform.
If Wu Huo hadn't been ruthless and used a group of war horses to cover the retreat of the troops in front of Yanyue Formation, all four of his brigades would have folded in, and finally managed to escape with more than a thousand soldiers.
Counting the losses on both wings of the attack, half of the 92nd Division's men and horses were lost. It's not that Wang Chou's Yanyue Formation was better than the cavalry, but it just happened to meet special conditions, and the 92nd Division was unlucky and suffered a big loss.
The cavalry is known as the strongest unit in the land and is inseparable from its rich and diverse tactics. However, the Yanyue Formation is located in Beidaying and can only attack frontally. Due to the constraints of the battlefield, the 92nd Division can adopt few tactics.
Shao Diantai wanted to break through the Peking Camp before the enemy's reinforcements arrived, so Wu Huo had to resort to simple and crude tactics in order to defeat the Yanyue Formation in the shortest possible time.
On flat ground, in a straight line, a powerful crossbow coupled with a crossbow cart is a nightmare for cavalry. Not to mention the auxiliary means such as tripping horse ropes and throwing nets, the front of the Yanyue Formation is a death passage.
There were still more than 5,000 people in the naval force. At Wu Huo's request, they built two shield walls and a temporary general platform.
"Where are the people from the 91st Division?" Wu Huo realized that Shao Diancang and his men were missing.
Gan Yun turned to look east and said, "We should be attacking the enemy's command tower."
Wu Huo frowned and said, "I can't even get past the general's platform in front of me. Can Shao Diancang be able to defeat the general's platform?"
Shao Diancang went more smoothly than expected. At this time, he had reached the commander's platform, but there were dense horse-rejection posts around the commander's platform, and behind the horse-rejection posts there were a large number of finely armored infantry.
If they want to get on the command platform, they have to abandon their horses, walk around the horse-rejecting posts, kill all the armored infantry, and of course they have to guard against the crossbowmen above their heads.
"Dismount, charge forward, and capture Jiang Zhi alive!" Shao Diancang raised his head and looked at the panicked young chief of staff, knowing that a great fortune was ahead of him.
There are at most five hundred armored infantrymen under the commander's platform, and he still has three thousand men. This opportunity is rare!
He didn't even think about it, why did the enemy's chief of staff only have so many people around him?
However, he did not send everyone, and left a thousand people with him.
Nearly two thousand cavalry put on long swords, jumped off their horses, and surrounded the commander's platform. The soldiers in the front row began to swing their swords to cut down the horse piles. They were not used to fighting on foot in complex terrain, and would rather spend more time cutting out a spacious battlefield.
"Haha, I haven't completely lost my mind yet." Some of the methods Jiang Zhi prepared did not come in use, "Signal!"
"Yes!" The soldier raised a red flag and waved it left and right.
When Shaodian Cang saw it, his heart skipped a beat. This signal was definitely not meant for him. It could only mean that there was an ambush nearby.
"Come on!"
"Kill!"
"Don't leave, Young Diancang!"
"Capture Shaodian Cang alive!"
…
The situation was reversed in an instant. One moment they were shouting "Capture Jiang Zhi alive", and the next moment they were shouting "Capture Shao Diancang alive". The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, and an inconspicuous decision might affect the final outcome.
The ambush troops rushed out from behind, cutting off the 91st Division's way back to Beida Camp, but leaving way to go deep into Dong Daying. However, Shao Diancang did not dare to choose to go deep into Dong Daying, so he quickly ordered the retreat back to Beida Camp.
The elite infantrymen guarding the commander's platform rushed out, entangled the cavalry who had not mounted their horses, and prevented them from leaving.
Shao Dian Cang and the thousand cavalry who stayed on horseback did not withdraw immediately in order to wait for their companions. Without their protection, the ambush and the crossbowmen on the command platform would have shot the empty horses to death.
By the time most of the cavalry returned to their horses, the ambush was already approaching, and the cavalry had no distance to charge. The cavalry, which could not run, had no advantage over the infantry in a fighting formation, and it was easy to be shot by crossbows while sitting on horseback. The 91st Division again
Once we came to the edge of total annihilation.
This time, Shaodian Wushang stood up. He ignored the sneak attack of crossbows and fought tooth and nail to clear a bloody path. The leader of the covering division led 500 elite men to break through the interception of the ambush. In the end, he was too bleeding and unable to fight anymore and was beheaded by the pursuers.
Shao Diancang fled back to the main battlefield of Beida Camp with the last 500 people of the 91st Division. Chen Panqiu was leading his troops to storm the east side of the rear camp. Seeing that friendly troops were being chased, he immediately detached some troops to respond.
After the 93rd Division rushed into the Beida Camp, Chen Panqiu did not blindly attack the Yanyue Formation. He carefully observed the entire defense line and decided to start from both wings and risk penetrating the camp to go around the enemy's rear.
He didn't know if there was an ambush or a trap in the camp, but his intuition told him that the camp was far less dangerous than the enemy troops blocking the road.
In the end, his bet was correct. There were indeed traps in the large army camps, but each camp would cause single-digit casualties at most. Killing through a hundred camps would result in a maximum loss of several hundred people. This loss was nothing compared to the friendly forces in front.
What.
Ding Kui realized something was wrong and quickly ordered the magician to set fire to the camp.
At the first fire magic concentration camp, Xi Xiu gave the order to move to the middle camp.
The damn Yanyue Formation finally retreated. Wu Huo led his troops to the general platform and saw that the people here were empty.
"Hmph! If they lose their advantage, they will just run away. Without powerful long-range weapons, the Eighth Army is just scum!" He deliberately said it loudly so that the surrounding subordinates could hear it.
"General Wu, please come up to the general platform." Gan Yun also led people to follow.
Wu Huo looked up at the battle in the air and said: "The enemy's magicians have enough power to attack us. This general platform is too high. Please add a layer in the middle."
"It's on fire! It's on fire!"
The defenders of Beidaying set fire to the tents and bunkers along the way as they retreated.
"How cruel! They didn't intend to fight us head-on." Wu Huo was glad that he didn't chase too closely, otherwise he would easily fall into the sea of fire.
"Here, is this platform still in use?" Gan Yun looked at the fire in the distance and hesitated.
"That's right!" Wu Huo suddenly realized, "Don't worry about it, go and dismantle the camp tent and remove the firebreak before the fire spreads!" He quickly ordered his subordinates to join in the demolition operation.
There are many flammable things in the military camp, and if a fire breaks out, it will be out of control. Moreover, their magicians cannot attack them. It is difficult to put out the fire without the help of water magicians.
"The 96th Division is coming up." A scout came to report, and happened to meet Shao Diancang and Chen Panqiu arriving.
"The commander-in-chief means to attack with force." Shao Diancang immediately saw the intention of the commander of the army.
"The enemy has been prepared for a long time. The areas close to the central camp have been set on fire. Moreover, there are tens of thousands of enemy troops at the central camp. There must be at least 5,000 crossbowmen. We are easily attacked when we put out the fire." Wu Huo didn't mention a word about "can't".
A strong attack, but his meaning was expressed very clearly.
"Military orders are hard to disobey." Chen Panqiu said four words with difficulty.
"How about we turn in another direction and attack that handsome platform. When I attacked it just now, there were only a few thousand troops there." Shao Diancang did not forget Jiang Zhi, the man who almost caused his entire army to be annihilated.
"Is there an ambush?" Wu Huo was a little concerned.
"If there is still an ambush, I won't be able to come back. You can ask Xiaoqiu." Shao Diancang is a little scared now. If there are five thousand more ambushes, he will not be able to escape.
"Yeah." Chen Panqiu nodded.
"The soldiers and horses from the east military camp should have been transferred here. Even if there are troops left behind, there are definitely not as many as here. I support Lao Cang's suggestion." Wu Huo simply wanted to attack the east camp.
"Do you want to ask the commander for instructions?" Chen Panqiu felt that Wu Huo was right, but he did not want to disobey the military order.
"Okay! I'll give the commander a signal to ask." Young Dian Cang didn't dare to act without authorization.
Shao Dian Tai can see them from the sky, so he does not need to send people to ask for instructions, but can communicate with flag language. The regular army has a mature flag language system, especially the cavalry units. Their battlefield areas are generally large, and flag language and bugles are important.
means of communication.
Shao Diantai had a clear view of the situation in the Beida Camp and knew the difficulties of his subordinates, but he did not know the specific situation in the East Camp. The civilian husband pretending to be a soldier really played a role in confusing the situation.
However, many years of combat experience allowed him to make a quick decision and agree to Shaodian Cang's request.
Of course Ding Kui understood the flag language and laughed, "You think I'm blind." He suddenly shouted, "There is an ambush in Dong Daying!"
Where did the ambush come from in the East Camp? All the soldiers and horses were sent to the North Camp. The five thousand people under the commander's platform were from the South Camp. Jiang Zhi understood as soon as he heard this. Ding Kui clearly asked him to be careful of the East Camp.
"Give Xi Xiu the signal and let the troops of the Dongda Camp Headquarters return to the defense." Jiang Zhi did not dare to ask for help. After giving the order, he left the commander's platform and decided to temporarily avoid the enemy's attack.
The preparation work of the East Camp was not as sufficient as that of the Beida Camp, so Jiang Zhi had to order everyone to act together, move all the resisting horses to the north of the rear camp, then bury stakes and pull ropes, and use all means to deal with the cavalry.
After receiving the order, Han Ruren immediately led her people back and ran to her middle camp first. Sure enough, she saw Jiang Zhi waiting for her in the middle camp.
"Abandon the rear camp. I have ordered people to pile up fire starters. You lead your troops to guard the entrance of the middle camp and wait for the enemy's further actions before making any plans." Jiang Zhi did not intend to stick to the rear camp of Dongda Camp.
Because the 71st, 74th and 75th Divisions are coming.
Half an hour had passed since the time when the Tenth Army Corps lit up the smoke. Dong Ba began to lead his troops to clean up the enemy scouts in front of a stick of incense. The men and horses of the three divisions were on standby five miles southeast, ready to enter the battlefield at any time.
There is a deep ditch behind the East Camp. Encircling it on three sides can block the enemy troops entering the rear camp. If you light a fire, you can destroy the enemy without fighting.
Shao Diancang and the others were not aware of the danger in front of them, so they rushed into the back camp of Dongda Camp without encountering any resistance. They just spent some effort to deal with the obstacles.
The 96th Division ran to Dongda Camp to join them. In order to ensure their safety, the 99th Division, which was responsible for the left wing of the army, also went around to the rear of Dongda Camp and stood guard on the other side of the deep ditch.