Chapter 720

Therefore, for the sake of commanding the battle, before every engagement the great banner would be displayed.

It was conferred upon the various commanders by the great kings.

The commander-in-chief's banner was called the great banner.

It stood within the central army's main camp, signifying that the commander-in-chief was present together with the soldiers and officers of every rank.

So long as the great banner stands, the commander-in-chief stands.

When the great banner falls, the commander-in-chief has perished!

Therefore the central army's great banner was the soul of an army, and also the most easily recognized banner.

Because Boerhu had a hundred thousand troops, and the target surrounded was five thousand isolated Tang Army soldiers.

So all along, his central army's great banner had been boldly displayed, standing within the southern gate's main camp.

In the past, this place had the most soldiers, and experts of every rank emerged in endless succession.

But when Wang Xiaojie's five thousand reinforcements appeared in the north.

Boerhu keenly sensed this was a battle opportunity, and unexpectedly dispatched armies from every direction, putting on a posture of encircling and annihilating Wang Xiaojie's five thousand reinforcements.

Additionally, he transferred experts such as Seeing Meng Chixing and Watching Bi Xuan to go forth.

The Yuan Army was already adept at field battle, not skilled at siege warfare.

This was also one of the reasons Boerhu, commanding a hundred thousand troops, had been unable to take Yanmen Pass after a ten-day siege.

Surround Wang Xiaojie's five thousand troops, lure the remaining Tang Army inside the city to come out and fight.

If they came, then the siege battle would turn into a field battle of encircling a point to strike reinforcements.

If they sat by and did nothing, then he would slowly and brutally slaughter Wang Xiaojie's reinforcements right before their eyes.

For the morale of the remaining Tang Army inside the city, this would absolutely be a devastating blow.

A great army without morale, even if it had sharp weapons like giant siege crossbows, or the personal valor of Yuchi Zhen, of what use would it be?

As for whether the Tang Army inside the city would Chenciji Society, counterattack and charge his central army camp to the south.

This possibility, Boerhu, as a famous general of the Great Yuan, had naturally also considered.

In his thinking, he himself had also lost nearly ten thousand troops.

Though most were civilian laborers, by proportion, the Tang Army inside the city had also suffered no small losses.

Such a Tang Army, having to both defend the city and respond to Wang Xiaojie's reinforcements to the north.

Unless every one of them was a top-tier expert, there was only the slightest possibility.

But with so many top-tier experts forming an army, why would they still bother defending the city.

After ruling out this possibility, Boerhu therefore formulated this plan of encircling a point to strike reinforcements, turning the siege into a field battle.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion according to his judgment.

The five thousand Tang Army to the north, though fresh troops, and under the command of his old enemy Wang Xiaojie.

Yet they had after all encountered the Yuan Army in the open field.

At first, they took the enemy by surprise and did gain some advantage.

But this slight advantage, after Boerhu's order was issued.

General Wulisu immediately Xinlingshen Society, and with the support of armies from every direction, steadied the formation.

Instead, using the field battle the Yuan Army was most adept at, he firmly pinned Wang Xiaojie not far from Yanmen Pass.

With this, Wang Xiaojie could neither advance a single step, nor retreat with any path left.

After completing this step, Boerhu was overjoyed.

Although in this southern campaign, the Great Yuan as a whole had already fallen into an extremely passive position strategically.

But if at the final moment he could slay his old enemy Wang Xiaojie, and Gongpoyan Sect.

His own nearly hundred thousand troops could be preserved, awaiting the Great Yuan's rescue.

As long as he held out, then after the battle regardless of whether Yan Sect was held.

In this southern campaign which had already turned to an overall disadvantage, he would have established a brilliant merit.

When the time came, with this merit, plus all his past hard-won contributions.

The Great Khan would surely make him, like Mu Huali, General Zhebie, General Chilaowen and others, one of the Thirteen Wings sheltering the Great Yuan!

Thinking that originally, although Mu Huali outranked him by half a grade, before becoming one of the Thirteen Wings he had always called him anda.

Since he became one of the Thirteen Wings, he had grown somewhat arrogant.

Since this southern campaign began, he had repeatedly called him by his actual name.

Moreover, after Boerhu sent his battle report, there had been no news, no reply.

Every time he thought of this, Boerhu felt he was being looked down upon by him.

Looked down upon by this Mu Huali who had once sworn to share life and death together.

"Grand General, look…"

Just as Boerhu was idly thinking at random, the personal guard beside him suddenly said.

As a great general, he instantly sobered up.

Following the personal guard's direction, he looked toward Yanmen Pass.

He discovered that the Tang Army, which had been fighting like a cornered beast behind the pass, had at some unknown time organized a force of several hundred men.

Not only had they left the city, but under the lead of a general they were charging toward this direction.

"What? Have these Tang Army soldiers gone mad? They want to charge my central army with just this few men?"

The thing Boerhu had judged least likely to happen, had still happened.

And the most outrageous part was, this time the Tang Army that came out didn't even number a thousand.

Although his central army was currently weak, that also depended on who you were comparing it to, didn't it?

Compared to the trap set for the encirclement and suppression in the north, this side is naturally the weaker one.

But compared to these several hundred Tang Army troops, he had several thousand Yuan troops of great use by his side, plus twenty thousand laborers, as well as a few experts.

These several thousand Yuan troops had, for a long time now, followed Borhu's great army.

They could be said to be an elite force he had personally trained.

Such a great army, by no measure, could be called weak, could it?

What did the Tang Army rely on to have such courage, to think that with only these few hundred people they dared to charge in defiance?

"Haha! Grand General, perhaps the Tang Army has gone mad.

Don't the Central Plains people say, a cornered beast still fights.

In my view, these Tang Ren are nothing but a cornered beast, putting up a last-ditch struggle before death."

A personal guard, while Borhu was pondering, could not help but say mockingly.

These personal guards were either brothers who had risked life and death alongside Borhu.

Or they were in-laws and relatives connected to him by marriage.

Therefore, when there were no outsiders, they spoke to Borhu quite casually.

"In my view, it's not that they've gone mad.

Rather, they think that because our great Yuan Iron Army has been unable to take Yanmen Pass for so many days now,

these Tang Army troops have gotten cocky, thinking our Yuan troops are nothing more than this."

Another personal guard, however, spoke a different opinion at this moment.

Borhu, hearing this, felt this was indeed possible.

Although in these seven days of attacking the city, he had only lost around three thousand Yuan soldiers.

But in the eyes of the Tang Army, his losses were close to ten thousand.

Such heavy losses, coupled with the inability to take the city after so long, being looked down upon by the Tang Ren was only to be expected.

"Very well! Since the Tang Army looks down on us so, then let's swallow them whole!"

Borhu grinned, with a rather cruel air,

"Let these southerners see well how one fights a pitched battle in the open field.

Pass down the order to dispatch two thousand-man teams to annihilate this Tang Army force entirely.

Chop off all the heads and make a Jingguan!".

Jingguan is a wartime term.

It means chopping off the heads of captured or fallen enemy soldiers and piling them into a mound.