hsntnovel Chapter 2246: Beginning to Suppress Bandits
Chapter 2246: Beginning to Suppress Bandits
Li Shen's army marched slowly because of its large number of people.
In order not to alert the enemy, Li Shen sent out a large number of scouts to clean up the spies sent by the rebels.
It took nearly ten days to finally reach that area.
Looking at the mountains in the distance, Li Shen was trying hard to recall his memories.
Searching among the limited knowledge reserves.
This mountain range should belong to the Altai Mountains, which Li Shen learned about in geography class.
And more importantly, he remembered that there were various mines in the Al Mountains.
Altai comes from Mongolian, which means gold. There are gold mines here, and they should be very large gold mines.
"Your Highness, the scouts just reported that we are still ten miles away from our destination."
Xue Rengui came over to report at this moment.
"Okay, follow the plan. You'll be in charge of everything. Try to wipe out all these people here and let as few people escape as possible."
Li Shen put down the telescope.
"Yes, I will arrange it right away."
Xue Rengui bowed and accepted the order.
Then the team began to move. The 10,000 soldiers of Xizhou Prefecture were divided into two and encircled the east and west sides.
The 10,000 soldiers and horses led by Li Shen were led by Zhou Daowu with 8,000 men and horses to continue their advance.
Xue Rengui led the remaining two thousand troops to clean up the escaped fish and acted as a mobile force.
Li Shen himself followed behind with the guard battalion, thinking about it for a mile, to ensure his own safety.
Li Shen always thought that he was a scholar and should not take risks. He himself was timid and afraid of death.
So the fact that he came here in person shows his sense of responsibility.
For such large-scale military operations involving tens of thousands of people, it is better to choose to conduct them during the day. Firstly, the visibility is better during the day, and they can also see if someone is escaping.
Secondly, the advantage is on our side, and a night attack is not conducive to a group charge.
The target of the frontal assault was clear: one of the largest rebel groups inside, numbering about five to six thousand people.
"Woo~~~Woo~~~~"
Just as the sun was setting in the west, the charge horn sounded, echoing for miles in the open space.
“Kill~~~~~”
At Zhou Daowu's command, eight thousand soldiers shouted and rushed towards the rebel gathering place, with the cavalry leading the way in front, the infantry following behind, and the archers at the back closely following.
The charge was so powerful that even the earth shook.
When the charge horn was heard, the rebels in the camp had already heard it and came out to see where the horn came from.
They only reacted when they saw the Tang army rushing in front of them.
"There are Tang troops, the Tang troops are coming~~~"
"Report to the leader."
The rebels on the periphery immediately fell into chaos. They were all small groups of rebels, the larger ones had one or two thousand people, and the smaller ones even had only a few hundred people.
They are only qualified to be stationed on the periphery, and to put it bluntly, they are just standing guard for the rebels inside.
The further inland the rebels are stationed, the stronger they become.
Zhou Daowu led the cavalry to the front, crushing the enemy with all their might. The cavalry's group charge was simply not something this mob could resist.
They were defeated in an instant. The infantry behind them caught up and hacked and killed the panicked rebels, clearing out the remnants.
For a moment, the shouts of killing were deafening, many tents were set on fire, screams continued, and flames shot up into the sky.
"Over there, someone is running out over there, hurry up and catch him. Yes, there is also someone running out to the east."
In the distance, Li Shen stood on a hill, watching the battle through a telescope and giving orders from time to time.
Unfortunately, his commands can only be given through his mind, and only he can hear them.
He now wishes he could get a walkie-talkie. This is almost like playing a game.
Li Shen was not worried at all. He had just seen that these rebels were no match for the Tang army and they didn't even put up a big resistance.
At this moment, Li Shen finally truly believed the various mythological stories he had heard before.
For example, his father defeated an army of 100,000 with only a few thousand men at Hulao Pass, and Li Shiji led 6,000 elite cavalry to defeat the Xueyantuo army of 200,000 in the Battle of Nuozhenshui.
In the Battle of Qikou, Li Jing led 3,000 elite cavalry to attack the Eastern Turks at night and captured 100,000 Turks.
Li Shen thought it was nonsense. He had never seen it with his own eyes and only heard it from others. But after seeing it today, he had to admit it.
Whether in terms of the quality of the soldiers or their weapons and equipment, these Changgao rebels were completely crushed.
The archers were attacking from the back, the infantry were fighting in the front, and the cavalry led by Zhou Daowu had already penetrated deep into the enemy camp.
"It really makes my blood boil. I even want to charge in and kill them."
Looking at the scene in the distance, Li Shen couldn't help but sigh.
“Your Highness is in charge of the overall planning and does not need to lead the troops himself.
"Your Highness has to be in charge of the overall situation here. Otherwise, if there is any mistake, won't it be a failure? The overall situation is more important."
Wang Xuance, who was standing by, heard Li Shen's words and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
He was truly afraid that Prince Ji would get carried away and charge into battle. Given Prince Ji's fighting prowess, the best outcome would be being hacked to death, the worst being being trampled to death.
If you say that Prince Ji is weak, he has practiced some boxing and kicking. But if you say that he knows martial arts, it is just fancy moves.
No one dared to let King Ji go to the battlefield.
"You have a point. Alas, I have all the skills in martial arts, but I have no way to display them. I feel like my talent is not being recognized."
Li Shen sighed and shook his head helplessly.
This time, Wang Xuance nodded in agreement:
"Your Highness is right, but Your Highness is a talented commander and needs to control the overall situation. He cannot lose sight of the big picture because of small details."
After hearing this, Li Shen sighed and shook his head again, and continued to check the battle situation.
At this time, the rebels inside had already learned of the situation and began to organize effective resistance.
The perimeter has been almost cleared and the infantry began to advance inside.
The cavalry led by Zhou Daowu charged recklessly, disrupting the enemy's formation. The archers behind fired a wave of arrows, and the infantry rushed forward with swords and shields.
These are all military merits, and even more so money.
Killing enemies can get you promoted to general, and reward you with silver, silk, etc. Otherwise, why would you charge at this risk?
The Xizhou soldiers on the left and right sides had formed a siege and began to attack the rebel camp from both sides.
"Your Majesty, look there."
As he spoke, Wang Xuance pointed in a direction and said to Li Shen.
Li Shen immediately looked over with a telescope and saw a group of troops with equipment similar to that of the palace soldiers, who were struggling to attack the Xizhou army on the left.
They tried to break out from the west, and the number of people was at least several thousand.
"That's them. Come, send word immediately. Have Xue Rengui rescue this group of rebels. Make sure they stay with me. It would be best if we can capture their leader alive."
Li Shen made a prompt decision and ordered someone to give the order. Immediately, the command flag was waved, and a messenger rushed to convey Li Shen's order.
Xue Rengui, who was patrolling the periphery, heard the messenger's words, looked back, confirmed that the command flag was correct, and immediately led his men to rush to the left for support.
(I have a cold and feel a little uncomfortable. I will draw a battle diagram for you tomorrow.)