Chapter 455: Three‑Sided Encirclement

The 21st year of Hongwu, July 19.

Erfurt, 80 li to the west.

The 80,000-strong army has been on the march for three days straight.

Departing from Frankfurt, they followed the east bank of the Rhine River northward, then turned east, crossing the lingering foothills of the Thuringian Forest; the terrain shifted from plains to rolling hills, and then from hills to uneven highlands.

The road was hard to traverse, littered with loose stones and scrub, and in a few narrow valleys even the wagons had to be stripped of their wheels to get through.

Yet no one complained.

Zhu Yong rode his horse, clutching the reins, his eyes fixed on the horizon that was widening ahead.

Erfurt lay just there.

Saxon Elector Rudolf III gathered a princes' council there; four of the seven great electors arrived, and with dozens of medium and minor princes, they assembled roughly 40,000 soldiers.

Scout reports said the allied main force had finished gathering and had pitched a camp on the plain outside Erfurt.

"Prince, Saxon scouts were sighted twenty li ahead." Wang Gui rode his horse back from the front, his face marked with a few bloodstreaks cut by branches.

"How many?"

"Three cavalry units, they rode too fast; we couldn't catch them."

Zhu Yong nodded and asked no further.

These Germans were poor at fighting but excellent at fleeing.

"Issue the command: the entire army accelerate, camp on the banks of the Gla River before dark."

The command was relayed, and the troops' marching speed increased.

The clang of iron armor rang through the valley, hooves raised dust on the stone road, and the War Flag fluttered with a rustling sound in the evening wind.

Zhu Di rode up from behind, a map in his hand.

"Second Prince, the opposite bank of the Gla River is Erfurt; the Saxon camp sits by the river, facing across, less than ten li away."

"Did the scouts get a clear picture of the enemy's deployment on the opposite bank?"

"We have it. The Saxon Elector's forces are arrayed on the riverfront, about twenty thousand men; the Brandenburg Elector's forces are northward, about fifteen thousand; and a few minor princes' troops are southward, totaling under ten thousand."

Zhu Di paused, then said, "The troops are dispersed; the front and rear cannot cover each other, just like those people from Worms."

Zhu Yong's mouth twitched slightly upward.

These German princes were poor at war but quite adept at showing off.

There were many men, but their hearts were not united; no one wanted to place troops under another's command, fearing that if their soldiers were exhausted, another would seize their territory.

That is the flaw of the feudal enfeoffment system.

Along the way, there were far too many such and such lords.

When night fell, the army pitched its camp on the west bank of the Gla River.

Tents were erected one after another, cooking smoke curled upward, and the air was scented with Dry Rations and dried meat, mixed with the river's aroma.

Zhu Yong sat on a large Stone, a map spread before him.

The Gla River bends here; the waterway is narrow and the current gentle, suitable for crossing.

The opposite bank is an open plain, the Saxon camp lies on it, tents stretching for miles, campfires dotted about, looking like a field of stars in the night.

"Second Prince, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Zhu Di said as he sat beside him.

"First bombard them, break their Formation, then cross the river."

Zhu Yong pointed to the bend of the Gla River on the map and said, "You take twenty thousand men, loop around from the north, sever the link between the Brandenburg troops and the Saxons.

I will lead fifty thousand men, cross the river head‑on, strike straight at the Saxon center; the cousin will take ten thousand men, encircle from the south, blocking their route south."

Zhu Di looked at the map and nodded.

"Three‑sided encirclement?"

"It's not an encirclement, it's to make them run."

Zhu Yong said lightly, "Give them a road to run east, let them flee back to Saxony, then we pursue, capturing city after city."

Zhu Di nodded thoughtfully.

He understood the Second Prince's meaning.

Rather than wiping out all forty thousand here, it's better to let a portion return, have them pave the way, sparing us the need to take city after city.

"Prince, General Feng has arrived." Wang Gui walked up from behind.

Zhu Yong turned and saw Feng Sheng stride toward them.

The veteran wore a half‑worn set of iron armor, his face marked by sand‑etched wrinkles, yet his eyes shone, and he walked with a gusty stride.

"General Feng, is everything in the rear arranged?"

Feng Sheng clasped his fists and said, "Prince, rest assured, Grain and Fodder have already been delivered to Frankfurt, enough to feed the army for three months; the captives have been settled, the willing are drafted as auxiliary troops, the unwilling are sent to mine."

Zhu Yong nodded, gestured to the nearby Stone for him to sit.

"General Feng, tomorrow you take ten thousand men to flank from the south, blocking the Saxons' southern retreat."

Feng Sheng clasped his fists and replied, "Yes…"

"After this battle, you will return to Frankfurt to secure the rear for me."

Feng Sheng hesitated briefly, then quickly said, "Prince, I still wish to follow you eastward into battle!"

"There are plenty of battles eastward; it's not urgent now."

Zhu Yong looked at the veteran's graying hair, his mouth twitching slightly as he said, "You're over sixty this year; you can't follow me all the way to Vienna."

Feng Sheng opened his mouth, seemed about to speak, then swallowed it back.

He knew the Prince meant well for him.

"Prince, then I will guard Frankfurt for you."

Zhu Yong nodded, saying nothing more.

In the distance, the roar of the Gela River's water carried far through the night.

On the opposite bank, the Saxons' camp blazed with lights, and the campfire cast a dim red glow.

Zhu Yong glanced at the nearby map, which showed the eastern side of the Holy Roman Empire; now it was already in his grasp.

He couldn't help comparing his years of experience with the history of Europe in his mind; now the fate of the whole of Europe had already been altered by Great Ming's iron hooves.

In America, no one knows where Chang Yuchun and Lan Yu have reached.

He came from America to Europe; at the time he only left some traces on America's west coast, and now no one knows what they look like.

After Zhu Yong passed through America, he communicated with Zhu Biao, ordering Chang Yuchun to return from Tie Mu Er's residence, bring Lan Yu to America, and then incorporate America into Great Ming's territory.

Meanwhile, America.

In the Mexican Valley, on the shores of Lake Tescoco.

Chang Yuchun stood atop a pyramid, gazing at the distant misty expanse of the lake.

Several canoes drifted on the lake, their native occupants hauling nets as fish leapt within, flashing silver‑white in the sunlight.

On the far shore, the outline of a great city could be faintly seen.

It was the capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan, which Europeans called "Mexico City."

"General, the scout has returned," Lan Yu said as they climbed up from beneath the pyramid, their iron armor dusted, their face ashen, yet their eyes shone startlingly.

In the past year and a bit, he had fought many battles in America alongside Chang Yuchun.

Landing from the Yucatán Peninsula, they advanced westward, fighting dozens of battles and wiping out dozens of tribes.

The Maya city‑states fell one by one, pyramids were toppled, idols smashed, and Gold and Silver emptied.

The Maya initially resisted, using obsidian knives and wooden sticks against Great Ming's Flintlock Guns and cannons; after a few rounds of slaughter they submitted.

Now it was the Aztecs' turn.

"How about it, does Montezuma consent to surrender?" Chang Yuchun turned, took the Water Bag Lan Yu handed over, and tipped his head to gulp a big mouthful.

Lan Yu grinned, "They won't. The Aztec king says they have a great god's protection, aren't afraid of our cannons, and even says they will capture us for a sacrifice."

Chang Yuchun hummed and said, "Let them sacrifice; issue the orders, all troops prepare, cross the lake at first light tomorrow, and assault the city."

"Yes..."

Lan Yu replied, turned, and strode down the pyramid, boots striking the stone steps with a muffled thud.

Chang Yuchun stood on the pyramid's summit, looking toward the distant city of Tenochtitlan.

The city was larger than he had imagined.

At its center rose a massive pyramid, its apex bearing two temples devoted to the Aztecs' chief deity.

Beyond the city walls lay a dense tangle of houses, some of stone, some of mudbrick, glimmering gray‑white in the sun.

Several long bridges spanned the lake to the mainland; at each bridgehead stood a guard post with Aztec warriors in padded armor, spears and shields raised in formation.

"Send the order: set the cannons by the lake, fire at first light tomorrow, start by bombarding the city," Chang Yuchun said as he descended the pyramid.

"General, what shall we do with those natives?"

"Those who surrender will be conscripted as auxiliary troops; those who refuse, kill them."

Chang Yuchun spoke plainly, as if commenting on the weather.

Lan Yu nodded and asked no further.

He had fought in America for over a year and was already accustomed.

These natives, if not killed, are not honest.

Kill them, and the survivors become obedient.

Obedient, they can work.