Chapter 896: Blood and Fire Invade the Delicate Beauty

Twenty li northwest of the Love Shenjing, a dense forest leaning against the foothills.

At dawn, the sky was dim, the red clouds were hazy, and the world was filled with a sense of desolation.

The image in the telescope kept expanding. Waiting for three fast horses to gallop near, it was precisely Jiang Xiao Liu and two scouts.

Jiang Xiao Liu leaped off his horse and said, "Count, the secret posts near Wuwu Town sent news last night.

Yesterday, the remnant Mongol elite cavalry looted Jiafeng Town and Yushan Village. All the townspeople were killed, and grain and livestock were all looted.

These two villages and towns are both close to Wuwu Town. After they were occupied, the sixty li around Wuwu Town were all controlled by the remnant Mongol elite cavalry, and the news was not leaked.

The majority of the elite cavalry that looted the two villages and towns returned to Wuwu Town last night. Adding the two together, the remnant Mongol elite cavalry is not fifteen thousand, but nearly twenty thousand."

Hearing that the townspeople of the two places were killed, Jia Cong's face turned iron-blue, and he said, "They control a range of sixty li, enough for twenty thousand elite cavalry to roam and maneuver.

As long as they seal off the passage from the Love Shenjing to the outside, preventing news from spreading to the four nearby prefectures, they can control the surrounding two hundred li. If we want to gather and annihilate them, it will be very difficult.

After they occupied the three villages and towns, did they have any other abnormal actions?"

Jiang Xiao Liu said, "The secret posts around Wuwu Town discovered yesterday that the remnant Mongols sent nearly a hundred scouts, changed into casual clothes, and left the town in batches.

They headed toward the eastern suburbs of the Love Shenjing and roamed near the firearm workshop. They might be worried about alarming the guards of the Forbidden Army, so they didn't get within two li of the workshop.

Count, you really didn't guess wrong. The Mongols are interested in the workshop. They are accustomed to looting, and they must have heard of the power of firearms.

They must be investigating the reality of the workshop, taking the opportunity to bring troops to loot the workshop and seize the elite firearms of the Great Zhou. It's just that they don't know that the workshop was moved away long ago."

Jia Cong said, "Anda Khan is a person of deep foresight. Although the Mongols have never seen the power of firearms, they must have heard rumors of the battle between the Jurchens in Liaodong.

The remnant Mongol mission has been in the Love Shenjing for several months; it is impossible for them not to know where the firearm workshop is. Anda Khan secretly sent a large army to approach the Love Shenjing, with the firearm workshop as if it were under their eyelids.

They must covet the firearm workshop. This is the movement of their subsequent troops, which is the easiest place for us to predict. Only by making good use of it can we create a battle opportunity.

The firearm workshop is located in the eastern suburbs, with open terrain on all four sides, unobstructed, which is not conducive to the movement of ambushing troops.

There is only one place where troops can be hidden: a dirt hill near the east city wall, no more than ten zhang high, with dense pine forests on the mountain and a Muni Temple on the top.

Two thousand cavalry can be hidden there, which can serve as a place for luring the enemy and sniping. I will lead the cavalry to bypass the north city and move along the east city wall to enter the dirt hill to set an ambush.

But the movement of two thousand cavalry is easy to attract the attention of the remnant Mongol roaming cavalry. Once our army's intention is leaked, it will be even more difficult to win by surprise.

Xiao Liu, I will assign you two hundred cavalry. You take them to run more than ten laps in the southeast direction of the workshop, making the momentum as large as possible.

The southeast direction of the firearm workshop faces Wuwu Town, and there must be many remnant Mongol scouts nearby. Attract their attention there to cover the movement of the main force.

I will take the opportunity to lead the team to quickly enter the dirt hill. In addition, you cannot act empty-handed; you must display my general's banner."

Jiang Xiao Liu scratched his hair, looking somewhat confused, and asked, "Count, you let me harass the enemy, create momentum, and cover people's eyes—I can understand all that.

Why do you want to display the general's banner? Wouldn't the Mongols know the details and know that you are leading troops nearby?"

Jia Cong smiled slightly, "You just do as I say; I have my own use for it. After the main force heads north for ten li, you immediately rush to the workshop, roam and patrol, and do not make any mistakes."

After Jiang Xiao Liu led the two hundred cavalry to set off, Jia Cong assembled the remaining eighteen hundred cavalry, checked the ammunition, packed the equipment, and left the dense forest at the foothills.

Before leaving, he personally issued a military order: once they encounter the remnant Mongol main force, they should move and fight according to his military order. All improved Lumichong muskets should be lined up for dense shooting.

The eight hundred rear-loading riflemen should not act without authorization; they should all follow his orders. If the remnant Mongol cavalry breaks through the shooting range of the Lumichong muskets, the rear-loading riflemen can then perform blocking shooting.

Once the remnant Mongol main force is blocked outside the shooting range, the rear-loading riflemen should immediately stop firing and wait for the next round of blocking shooting, cycling back and forth, always blocking the enemy outside the shooting range.

Moreover, once both sides encounter and engage in battle, no matter how intense the battle is, without his order, they are not allowed to use porcelain mines, otherwise, they will be severely punished by military law.

Before the two thousand cavalry set off, Jia Cong had ordered all cavalry to increase the base number of bullets and porcelain mines. Now he strictly ordered them not to use porcelain mines easily.

One must know that for musketeers, the lethality of porcelain mines is greater than that of bullets. It is precisely the most powerful firearm for suppressing the enemy's charge when facing several times the enemy's troops.

Moreover, many soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp also had doubts about Jia Cong's use of rear-loading rifles.

They all knew that the eight hundred rear-loading riflemen were the strongest combat power among the musketeers, so why couldn't they be fully used in battle, but were used very sparingly?

Although many soldiers had doubts, Jia Cong led troops on an expedition, and although it had only been a few days, whether it was his strategy as a general or his ability to lead troops, it was obvious to all in the army.

Every night during the march, he gathered the team leaders and battalion commanders in the army to point out the way of cavalry operation and the tricks of using firearms to deal with the enemy, which was quite admired by the military officers in the army.

Coupled with the backbone of the old Liaodong troops such as Jiang Xiao Liu and Yu Xiuzhu in the army, it played an excellent cohesive role, making his prestige in the army grow day by day.

He pacified the Jurchens in Liaodong, had brilliant battle achievements, was granted a hereditary title, and the army still talked about it with relish, naturally making it easier for soldiers to develop worship.

So even if the military order was difficult, there was no objection from the officers and soldiers. This was the effect of Jia Cong's actual achievements in leading the army and his dazzling personal prestige.

When the sky was bright, Jia Cong led the whole army to bypass the north and march quickly. This direction would pull further away from Wuwu Town.

Jia Cong and Through Ai Li rode their horses in the front row of the team, surrounded by personal guards, with a distance between them.

Through Ai Li tightened the reins, controlled the horse to approach Jia Cong, and asked, "Yuzhang, the military order you issued just now was quite strange. Many soldiers looked puzzled.

Even I don't quite understand. Now we are facing twenty thousand elite cavalry. The enemy's momentum is fierce and quite alarming.

The rapid-fire firepower of the rear-loading rifles and the explosive lethality of the porcelain mines are sharp weapons for suppressing large cavalry teams. Why do you still suppress their use?"

Jia Cong said, "Originally, I thought the enemy had only fifteen thousand troops. I didn't expect it to reach more than twenty thousand, which is far beyond expectations.

Even if our two thousand cavalry teams are well-equipped and configured with sufficient bullets and porcelain mines, wanting to completely suppress twenty thousand elite cavalry is beyond our reach.

Although the Mongols have heard of the prestige of firearms, they have never truly seen them. Seeing is believing, hearing is false. Their fear of firearms is naturally very limited.

Knowing oneself and not knowing the enemy has always been a taboo for military strategists, but for us, it is the best battle opportunity and the key to deciding victory or defeat.

The reason why I suppress the use of rear-loading rifles and porcelain mines is that I want to control the firepower of firearms to an appropriate intensity when the two armies encounter each other.

It can both make the Mongols fear the power of firearms and not make them too terrified, believing that firearms are sharp and invincible, and even feeling that there is an opportunity to be exploited.

Only in this way can our two thousand cavalry contain ten times the enemy's troops and have the opportunity to annihilate them under the city.

Otherwise, if the rapid-fire firepower of the rear-loading rifles and the cluster lethality of the porcelain mines are exposed too early in front of the enemy, making the remnant Mongol elite cavalry fearful and cowardly,

and the twenty thousand elite cavalry flee and hide, no matter how sharp our firearms are, we will be helpless against them. No matter how sophisticated the firearms are, they will become decorations.

If these twenty thousand elite cavalry flee and hide, occupying the surroundings of the Love Shenjing like a bone-attached gangrene, and cannot be killed and eradicated, they will surely become a serious trouble.

They might even affect the success or failure of the war against the Mongols, so no matter how high the price is, we must gather and annihilate them as soon as possible!"

Through Ai Li smiled, "You really have calculations. You were born to lead troops in battle. This battle will surely be a victory."

Jia Cong shook his head and said, "The number of the remnant Mongol main force is truly beyond expectations. The risk of this battle is quite large, but it is unavoidable.

Letting you take risks with me is truly inappropriate. I should have let you stay in the rear army to assist Lin Zhen in guarding the artillery formation."

Through Ai Li smiled indifferently and said, "What are you talking about? Going to the battlefield to kill the enemy, I am no weaker than you. It was like this in Liaodong..."

Eastern suburbs of the Love Shenjing, firearm workshop.

Since the firearm workshop was moved, the soldiers of the Forbidden Army camp guarding the workshop were reduced from one thousand five hundred to five hundred.

Because although the workshop had moved away the important equipment, the workshop was still a vital place for the military and state, so it could not be ignored and still needed troops to guard it.

After all, refugees often gathered outside the city recently. If such a large workshop had no troops to guard it, it would surely be ruined by the refugees and lose its decorum.

Originally, under the Emperor's feet, it was the most stable place. Even if the war in the North Three Passes was raging, the surroundings of the Love Shenjing were calm.

Most of the five hundred Forbidden Army soldiers left behind stayed outside the city and didn't take it to heart. Without the heavy responsibility of guarding the workshop, they were much more leisurely than usual.

But yesterday, a military report came from inside the city that a large remnant Mongol cavalry was active in Wuwu Town, twenty li away, which made the five hundred Forbidden Army soldiers guarding the workshop strengthen their precautions.

After the news reached the Forbidden Army camp, the five hundred Forbidden Army soldiers were all nervous. Wuwu Town was only twenty li away from the workshop, and a fast horse charge would take less than half an hour.

The remnant Mongols were famous for their fast horses and curved swords, and their elite cavalry moved extremely fast. But as long as they discovered the enemy's traces, they would arrive in an instant, and there would be no time to retreat. ===== CHAPTER 897 =====