The staff officer brought the map, and Shao Diantai confirmed the location of the army and said: "After bypassing Huakai City, we can march overnight with fire. We will definitely scare Xuanyuan Su!"
…
"The enemy's national defense army is still out and about near Xijiang, getting closer and closer to the west. The biggest problem is that the enemy's special forces are moving strangely..."
"An enemy regiment is attacking Tong'an County, and the forward is near Pingpei Town..."
"The enemy's fifth army bypassed the west of Tong'an County to support the attack of the enemy's first army..."
"The enemy's tenth regiment has crossed Huakaicheng and has not stopped to attack the enemy. It seems that they have plans to cross the state border and attack Xihai Prefecture..."
"..."
More and more bad news is reaching Xuanyuansu's headquarters.
"Where are the enemy's 22nd Army and the 8th Army? What's Jin Man's conspiracy?" Xuanyuansu found that there was no news from the eastern battlefield.
"All the enemy forces in the east retreated behind their defensive lines, and only a few scouts were active." This information was considered unimportant by the staff and was buried under the pile of documents.
Xuanyuansu stood in front of the sand table and meditated.
Flowers bloom on all sides of my base camp, but let go of the east side to lure me eastward? This strategy is too naive, it would be better to cut off my food route directly.
Thinking of this, his eyes fell between the base camp and Zangwu Mountain.
The supplies in the camp can last for three months, which is enough to last until Chu Kui's army goes south. Humph! I'll just spend it with them.
He knew about Chu Kui's withdrawal, and he could also calculate how long it would take the Northern Route Army to replenish its logistics supplies. As long as the base camp was not lost, he firmly believed that reinforcements would be waiting.
…
"Where are the defenders?" Ding Kui and Shaodian Bao had just finished patrolling the camp and returned to the Chinese army's tent.
Kong Ren replied: "The Eighth Army Corps is currently more than 100 kilometers away from us, and tomorrow we will be able to enter a safe distance of 60 kilometers."
Shaodianbao asked: "The fifth army is now laying siege to Kaiqu County. Isn't it a big move?"
Kaiqu County is close to Xihai Prefecture, and the southernmost is the entrance and exit of Zangwu Mountain. After capturing Kaiqu County, you can attack Zangwu Mountain at any time.
"Don't be afraid. With the Fifth Army Corps covering us, the enemy cannot detect us and the Eighth Army Corps. The Tenth Army Corps is threatening Xihaizhou. The enemy should not expect that they will suddenly turn around and go south." Ding Kui was betting on Xuanyuan Su's mentality.
The main force going to attack Zangwu Mountain this time is the 5th, 8th, 9th, and 10th legions, with a total of more than 300,000 troops. There is also a legion to cover the National Protectorate Army, the 13th, 15th, and 22nd legions.
The legion moved north to protect the food routes for the frontline troops.
All the troops in the Zhuwangzhou war zone were dispatched to cover Ding Kui's attack on Zangwu Mountain.
"The Fifth Army suffered heavy losses in Zangwu Mountain. They are most eager to counterattack Zangwu Mountain, but they are also the least likely to arouse Xuanyuan Su's suspicion.
It's all because your Excellency has gathered three elite legions, and the five weaker legions should not be used. This is called counter-use in a direct battle." Liu Yu explained for Ding Kui.
"If you were the enemy's commander, how would you feel in this situation?" Kong Ren asked Shaodian Bao for advice.
There were not many opportunities to work with elite army commanders, and he wanted to know the difference between other commanders and Ding Kui.
Shao Dianbao seemed to have thought about it before and immediately replied: "I will try to kill the first legion and make the fifth and tenth legion the only army behind the enemy."
Liu Yu nodded and said, "Well, it coincides with your thoughts. I think this is the best response plan."
…
After occupying Pingpei Town, the 1st Division received orders from Chen Yu to search and advance.
Searching forward is different from attacking forward. Scouts need to determine the enemy situation ahead before continuing the march.
The scouts discovered that the remnants of the rebellious 18th Division had retreated into Fengluo City. There were no other enemy troops nearby, so Yu Hu ordered to set off and advance to the gates of Fengluo City.
A city with complete defense facilities is not comparable to a small town. The 18th Rebel Division still has nearly 7,000 soldiers and horses, plus a makeshift city defense force of 10,000 people.
The 1st Division attacked the city while building military camps, waiting for support from the Chinese army.
The two armies have fought in recent times. Knowing each other's strength, it will not be so easy to determine the outcome if they fight again.
Yu Hu was not in a hurry to capture Fengluo City, and took out siege equipment to consume the city defense one by one, including the newly modified horn plow.
The horn plow truck was modified from a punch truck, adding a horn plow, wheels, and a frame. It can be powered by four horses and is most suitable for removing roadblocks.
This transformation was inspired by Ding Kui's iron pulley and the technology developed by Moji. Now Moji and Qingyangzi have joined the Equipment Department and the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry respectively. They have found suitable positions to show their talents.
The trebuchet used by the 1st Division is also different from ordinary ones. A strong animal sinew is added to the end of the pull rod, and the ejection force is doubled. The range is now no shorter than the trebuchet on the city wall, and may be longer.
Even so, after a day of fierce fighting under Fengluo City, the 1st Division still failed to attack the city wall or break through the city gate. The Rebellious 18th Division took advantage of the city defense to draw with them.
At night, the division staff came to remind: "Sir, this place is not far from the rebel base camp. We should be careful about the enemy coming to steal the camp at night."
Yu Hu pinched the paper in his hand and said, "It's been a whole day and there's still no news of reinforcements?"
"Master Chen's order for the reinforcements is to arrive before dusk tomorrow. It wouldn't be surprising if they don't come today."
"Well, withdraw the scouts to the south and leave only secret sentries on the east and west sides." Yu Hu's order was contrary to the advice of his staff.
"grown ups……"
Yu Hu raised his hand to stop the staff officer: "The troops patrolling the camp will be doubled tonight, and all the officers and soldiers will sleep with pillows on their armor."
Later he discovered that his order had a wrong word.
It was night when the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the originally sparse starlight was completely invisible. It was pitch black outside the military camp, and the torches thrown by the night watch soldiers could only illuminate a few meters in radius.
Yu Hu strolled to his general's flag, raised his head and stared at the flag fluttering in the wind, and said in his mouth: "Northeast wind, once it rains and the enemy troops come riding on the raindrops, we will not be able to hear or see them."
"Come here, get my gun."
As soon as he finished speaking, a drop of water hit his helmet.
The soldiers brought long guns and rain gear, and half of the ground was covered with water spots.
"What time is it? If you get wet with some rain, just take a shower." Yu Hu held a spear in one hand and strode towards the front camp.
When we arrived at the front camp, the rain became heavier and heavier. The night watch soldiers were busy adding rain covers to the braziers, and the sentries on the watchtower also moved the torches under the canopy.
The military camp has rules for rainy nights. The well-trained 1st Division did not plunge the military camp into darkness, but the range of monitoring outside the military camp was greatly reduced.
"Sir, please rest assured, my subordinates will never let up."
A captain ran to Yu Hu's side.
"Shh!" Yu Hu raised his right index finger in front of his mouth.
He stared down at a puddle of water and said, "Here comes the umbrella!" He waved to the soldiers.
"It's not me, cover that!" He pushed aside the soldiers and pointed at the pool of water.
The soldiers woke up and held up umbrellas to cover the puddles on the ground.
"There's a vibration, pay attention!" Yu Hu suddenly shouted loudly.
At this moment, a whistle sounded faintly in the distance.
Boom, boom, boom, in the blink of an eye, dense arrows shot into the military camp.
"Enemy attack! Sound the gong!" Yu Hu turned his spear, and a shadow of the spear blocked him, and his dark red fighting spirit armor immediately lit up.
The gong was used as a night alarm. Because of its convenience, anyone could ring it and it could be relayed throughout the entire military camp to wake up sleeping officers and soldiers.
You are really afraid that something will come. The enemy who is attacking may have been ambushing nearby, taking advantage of the rain to launch an attack, or they may just come through the raindrops, and their leader will have the ability to know astronomy well.
Yu Hu's luck was not too bad. He discovered something was wrong before the enemy attacked and promptly alerted the soldiers on guard.
The sentries outside the camp should be in danger, but the sentries inside the camp withstood the first wave of enemy sneak attacks, and only a few unlucky ones died under the powerful archers' arrows.
The soldiers were awakened by the sound of the gong and hurriedly took out the armor from under their pillows and strapped it on themselves tightly. If Yu Hu's order was to sleep with the armor on, the soldiers' reaction time could be shortened and they could enter the defensive position earlier.
"Put down the clapper!" Yu Hu fired out several beams of gun light, cutting off several ropes, and a nail-embedded clapper fell from the camp wall, hitting the enemy's head in the corner.
More and more enemies appeared outside the camp, and holes were quickly smashed into the camp wall.
"Come and accept your fate!" A strong man emerged from the hole, held up the iron rod and rushed towards Yuhu Lake.
I saw two rays of cold light flash by, the iron rod broke into two pieces, and the strong man sprayed on his neck...
A soldier holding two swords appeared in front of Yu Hu.
"Fourth, you stay here, I'll go to the camp gate." He patted the soldier on the back, then ran away with his gun.
As he ran, he shouted: "The third brigade organizes the second line of defense! The fourth brigade keeps an eye on the two wings!"
Teams of hundreds of people began to gather in the open space in the camp, and some troops who fell asleep entered combat mode.
The battle at the south gate of the military camp was extremely fierce. The gate was in tatters. The two squadrons responsible for guarding the gate were fighting with the enemy. If Yu Hu hadn't ordered to double the number, I am afraid that all the people standing near the camp gate would have been enemy troops.
"Come on me if you can move!" Yu Hu shouted as he charged into the chaotic battlefield.
Led by the division commander, the defenders launched a counterattack to regain control of the camp gate.
Whoosh, whoosh, a dense rain of arrows shot out again, mixed with fighting spirit blades and magic.
"Mad! Move the board to the vertical gate wall 20 meters behind the door!" Yu Hu could only protect himself and the people nearby. Soldiers with slower hands and feet were hit by arrows and fell down.
The enemy troops who made the sneak attack were well prepared and had a lot of troops. The long-range attack troops outside the camp gate alone were no less than a thousand people. Counting the troops attacking the military camp in squadron units, they were at least a division.
If you were to confront Yuhu with a military formation, you wouldn't be so embarrassed, but the sneak attack will only result in you being unprepared.
The camp gate could no longer be defended, so Yu Hu ordered the retreat to the second line of defense.
Five hundred heavy armored infantrymen used movable baffles to form a temporary gate, blocking the rear of the south gate of the military camp.
"Fire arrows!" The voice of the division's staff came from behind the countless flames.
Thousands of rockets flew into the sky.
The staff officer organized the archer position behind the second line of defense.
Yu Hu shouted without looking back: "Well done!"
When one's own archers appear, they don't have to be suppressed by the enemy's archers. They can organize defense more calmly and even launch local counterattacks.
…
"It's raining." Xi Xiu wiped his helmet and said, "Send the order and the whole army sets off!"