Chapter 1621 Decisive Battle From Homeland Valley Three
The retreat of the vanguard was not so smooth.
It is impossible for more than 3,000 cavalry to withdraw at once. The roads in the valley are narrow, and running 30 to 40 horses abreast is the limit. There are nearly 100 people in a column, which is at least more than 100 meters long, and the space for turning around is even longer.
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Any slight movement in the rear team would be clearly seen by Yang Kuo in the sky.
With the help of Ding Kui, Jiang Nan organized several counterattacks before getting rid of the enemy's pursuit.
During this period, a total of eight level six warriors took action, four on each side, Ding Kui, Shi Jiang, Jiang Nan and Ao Yu. Yes, Qinglong's little follower came to respond.
As for whether there are more level six combatants hidden in both teams?
It can be seen from the cautious attitude of Ding Kui and Yang Kuo that they probably do.
The real decisive battle has not yet begun, and the trump cards cannot be played out at once.
"Has the water source been solved?" Ding Kui asked Ao Yu.
"You don't know what you're doing." Ao Yu rolled his eyes.
"Cough cough cough!" Ding Kui cleared his throat vigorously. Fortunately, the people nearby didn't notice.
"I don't dare to take credit. You have made great contributions in this battle. I will ask you for credit later and ask the commander-in-chief for more gold coins." He lowered his voice.
"Oh oh oh, you can have this." Ao Yu immediately beamed with joy, "I accidentally discovered a hole on the mountain wall. There is a natural well in the cave. I think it can be used for a while."
"Is the blocking platform ready?" Ding Kui had already seen an earthen platform higher than the ground in front of him.
"It's much faster than I thought." Jiang Nan learned about the platform from the battle plan, but didn't know that Ding Kui and Ao Yu had tampered with the mountain wall in advance.
Ding Kui, who has studied civil engineering for four years, has already calculated the structural stress points and engineering quantities. The 3rd An Division only needs to fill in the soil as planned. With the help of the 218th Division and the 1st Special Operations Regiment, it will complete the base as quickly as possible.
Earth platform.
Seeing the figure of the vanguard, Xu Bin immediately ordered: "The cavalry retreat and cover their heads with scarves."
The 218 officers and soldiers neatly covered their noses and mouths with towels.
The long cavalry column ran through the passage on the south side of the mountain wall, leaving the soldiers on the road with disgrace.
"The brothers below are offended!" The soldier of the Special Operations Regiment on the platform picked up the water bag and took a sip. "Pfft!" After spraying, he walked back and another person stepped forward.
Several hundred people sprayed out a mist of water, which could barely suppress the dust brought up by the cavalry.
The enemy troops that followed stopped a few hundred meters away and watched. Yang Kuo, the leader, was a little confused.
Having been familiar with Lixiang Valley for a long time, he really didn't expect that Ding Kui would build an earthen platform in the valley.
"Are we going to fight a blockade?"
The opponent's tactical intention was already obvious, but he still couldn't figure it out, or he didn't want to think so.
Ding Kui flew high into the sky again, and it was his turn to observe the enemy's situation.
The main force of the rebels had not yet arrived, and Yang Kuo had no intention of using his cavalry to charge into the defensive position of the imperial army, which was waiting for him. Under Ding Kui's watch, he divided into two sides, clearing the road in the middle.
"Why don't you give it a try with the cavalry?" Shi Jiang held his bow and stood beside Dou Xiaoqi, with Ao Yu standing behind him.
"Our army has follow-up troops. After breaking up the position of the 218th Division, there are still people to attack. There are only two thousand cavalry. Anyone on the blocking platform will have enough time to shoot them.
Besides, we are here, if they can rush fifty meters in front of the formation, I will lose!" Dou Xiaoqi raised the crossbow in his hand with a confident expression on his face.
This is not his bragging. The equipment of the rebel cavalry is uneven and they are not an organized heavy cavalry unit. They are unlikely to be able to break through the crossbow interception of the special operations regiment.
"Crossbowmen, pay attention, withdraw the bow string, rest in place and other orders!" Xu Bin discovered a problem while inspecting the position.
Although stringing a powerful crossbow does not consume the crossbowmen's physical strength, it will cause damage if the bowstring is fully drawn for a long time. The crossbowmen of the 218th Division are inexperienced and a little nervous when facing the enemy. Some people string the arrows in advance and prepare to shoot.
The front row defensive position of the 218th Division consisted of spears and giant shields. In front of them was a bunker made of mud bags, which were extra mud bags on the earth platform.
In the middle are heavy armored infantry, with snagging ropes running across the ground. Each squad is equipped with long and short weapons, ready to engage in hand-to-hand combat with various enemy forces.
Behind them were densely packed crossbow troops, and some of them lined up behind the earthen platform, filling a section of the valley.
Behind them, fifty meters away, was the 3rd An Division. After setting up the earth platform, they withdrew to rest. Some soldiers were nervously building the command platform. Standing under the command flag instead of Ding Kui was Quan Sihai.
There was a long transport team behind the 3rd An Division, and some people from the 4th Anshi Division helped bring up the weapons and equipment of the 3rd An Division.
The vanguard troops have been dispersed and reorganized into the original troops. The cavalry originally belonging to the 213th and An 4th Division ran back to the entrance of the valley with their spare horses.
The imperial army walked less than one-third of the entire valley, while the rebels had to walk two-thirds of the way, which was equivalent to spending twice as much time on the road.
When the main force of the rebels arrived in front of the two armies' positions, it was already approaching noon.
Yang Kuo landed in the air, and a staff officer stepped forward and asked: "Is there smoke from the enemy's formation?"
"Indeed." Yang Kuo waved his hand impatiently.
He saw very clearly from above. Behind the blocking position, there were a large number of cooks cooking in pots, which was enough to feed tens of thousands of people.
If you still can't see that Ding Kui is stalling for time at this time, he is no longer worthy of being the deputy commander of the theater.
We agreed to have a decisive battle, but you only defended and did not attack to waste time!
Ding Kui did this a bit cheating, but the previous agreement did not say that he was not allowed to do this.
A large number of troops from the imperial court rushed to the front line, and Ding Kui could afford them!
If we had waited for the main force of the Eighth Army to arrive and cooperated with other regular troops, this battle would not have been fought, and the rebels would definitely lose.
"Where did they get so much clean water?" The staff officer was a little dumbfounded.
If the soldiers' water bags were collected, it would be enough for the cook to prepare a meal, but after a fierce battle, there might be no water to drink.
"Is this the point?" Yang Kuo said angrily, "We must wait for the enemy's reinforcements to arrive, defeat the enemy in front of us, and drive them all out of Lixiang Valley."
A general next to him said: "I can organize an attack immediately."
Yang Kuo suppressed his anger and said bitterly: "They eat, we eat too, we can't fight them hungry. Send the order, rest and eat on the spot, and start the attack after three sticks of incense."
To put it bluntly, he had no confidence in defeating the enemy in a short time.
Ding Kui came to the blocking position and shouted: "Hurry up and eat. The enemy will not rest for too long and is about to attack. The special operations regiment should be careful not to allow the enemy archers to enter the attack range. The crossbowmen of the 218th Division will cooperate."
good."
Dou Xiaoqi and Xu Bin answered at the same time: "Yes!"
"Inform the rear to transport crossbows as soon as possible, and ask if the wounded soldiers' barracks in the entrance camp have been built? Are all the doctors in place?" Quan Sihai, who was on the commander's stage, also received the news from the front.
Ding Kui made a lot of preparations in advance for a protracted battle, and the goal was not to delay it for a day or two.