Facing the sudden appearance of 14,000 to 5,000 cavalry, the prisoners in the camp were prepared as if they were facing a powerful enemy.
What made them feel the seriousness of the situation even more was that the gates of Zhenjiang Fort were opened, and 3,000 Dongjiang troops marched out boldly, with their vehicles and artillery in the lead.
The formation of a pincer attack from both front and rear was clearly revealed. General Gabra finally realized the seriousness of the situation and had no choice but to bite the bullet and rely on the camp to prepare to defend and wait for reinforcements.
Taking the initiative and fleeing from the camp was of course Gabra's choice.
But the first choice was obviously overestimating one's own capabilities. He did not dare to regard the Dongjiang Army as an ordinary Ming army, and was confident of defeating more with less.
Gabra, who had fought under Dudu and Jierhalang and participated in the Battle of Jianzhou, knew how powerful the flying cavalry of the Dongjiang Army was.
Of course, if the strength of the troops were not so disparate, he would dare to leave the camp and compete with the enemy.
Abandoning the camp and fleeing, Gabra knew that his end would be to have his head chopped off by Amin. The camp was not important, but the food and supplies in the camp were the lifeblood of the army.
Gabra did not dare to imagine that if the main force entered the court, enough people and supplies would be plundered. His task was to guard the camp and protect the food and supplies.
Therefore, after he sent a messenger asking for help, he deployed defenses and watched helplessly as the enemy closed the road and launched an encirclement on three sides.
The south, north, east, and Dongjiang armies only left the roads for Jianlu to escape westward.
Over there are Tangzhanbao and Fengcheng, which have been blocked by the Dongjiang Army and the special operations battalion. Jianlu's escape to the west is still a dead end, but he can only survive a little longer.
Three thousand lancers were in front, setting up three battle formations, and more than 10,000 flying cavalry were behind. The men and horses stood quietly in the cold wind, looking at the Jianlu camp with flags fluttering in the distance.
Liu Xingzuo put down his telescope, sneered, and said: "Jianlu clinging to the camp is simply destroying himself. He has no chance of winning."
"What should we do if we don't defend?" Liu Qishi sighed and said, "Go out to fight? Are you not blind? Can't you see that our army has an absolute advantage in terms of strength?"
After a pause, he added: "What's more, the general who built the captives must have received strict orders to ensure the safety of the camp and the food and grass supplies within it."
Fan Hualong smiled and nodded, and said: "What Brother Qishi said is absolutely true. As a grain and grass logistics base, Jianlu naturally focuses on stability."
Liu Xingzuo looked into the distance, smiled faintly, and said: "Two generals, the friendly forces in the north should be almost ready. You each go back to your headquarters and prepare to command the battle!"
Liu Qishi and Fan Hualong immediately handed over their hands and ran away with their own soldiers.
"General, the artillery is ready." The messenger rushed from behind and bowed to report.
Liu Xingzuo nodded, focusing on the north, waiting for the troops from Zhenjiang Fort to send a signal.
The army brought a dozen rocket launchers and five to six hundred rockets. With these firearms, Liu Xingzuo's troops also had the strength to attack the Jianlu camp.
However, Liu Xingzuo was more careful and knew that the cost of rockets was higher than that of artillery shells, so it was more cost-effective for the Zhenjiang Fort defenders to use more artillery.
Wang Zhan led 3,000 defenders out of the city, and after crossing the ditch, they set up formations one by one. Dozens of vehicles and artillery took the lead, infantry formations followed, and dozens of mortars and ammunition trucks followed, slowly advancing towards the Jianlu camp.
With a large group of cavalry responding, Wang Zhan was not afraid of the prisoners leaving the camp and used the cavalry to attack left and right.
Nearly two miles away from the Jianlu camp, the troops stopped advancing, the battle formation was deployed, and the artillerymen nervously deployed artillery, loaded the shells, and adjusted the firing angle.
This distance is quite suitable. The artillery can fire shells at the maximum range and can penetrate into the camp of the captives.
"Jianlu still doesn't have a clear understanding!" Jin Zhongguo sighed with some contempt, "Even the city can't stop the bombardment of our army's artillery, let alone this small camp."
In fact, mortars and rockets are more effective in attacking or destroying cities.
Although the city walls were not directly damaged, the buildings at that time were basically made of wood and were extremely easy to burn.
Just like Hetuala, the city's defenses were not broken, but the city was already in flames and burned to a white ground, and there were serious casualties. How could the city be defended?
Therefore, Jianlu's choice to retreat and defend was actually just waiting for death. Although the choice was made under the suppression of the powerful force of the Dongjiang Army, in the eyes of the generals of the Dongjiang Army, Jianlu's death was not far away.
Gabra looked at his opponent's posture. He had not launched an attack for a long time and realized the problem. He quickly ordered three thousand cavalry to leave the camp, hoping to repel or drive the enemy away and prevent the enemy's artillery from being within the range of the attack.
But this kind of response is in vain. In the face of absolute strength, no matter how he responds, he can no longer change the fate of destruction. It is just a slightly different process.
The first to launch the attack were the cavalry units from the east and south, which once again exceeded Gabra's expectations.
Because Gabra did not know the difference between artillery and rockets, he, like other Jianlu, thought that the Dongjiang Army used artillery.
The overwhelming rockets flew up into the sky, passed over a distance of more than two miles, and rained heavily into the Jianlu Camp. A few seconds later, there were explosions one after another, and countless flames and black smoke immediately rose up in the Jianlu Camp.
, there were continuous exclamations and screams.
A single salvo fires more than two hundred rockets, and the high rate of fire of the rocket launcher is fully demonstrated. Apart from the high cost and poor accuracy, it is really an excellent weapon for winning on the battlefield.
The tents were burning, the grain trucks were bursting with flames, the wounded who fell to the ground were screaming in pain, people were shouting, and the camp was in chaos.
Boom, boom, boom... After a continuous dull roar, dozens of artillery shells flew through the air again, scrambling to fall down. After a while, there were continuous explosions again.
The fire became more intense and the chaos became more intense. The Jianlu soldiers, who were well prepared to defend themselves against the enemy's attack, did not even see the enemy. They did not shoot a single arrow and suffered heavy casualties.
Liu Xingzuo looked around and assessed the effect of the bombardment. He nodded vigorously and seemed very satisfied. He turned to the ordering soldier and said: "Command the artillerymen to fire another salvo of rockets and then reload and wait for orders."
The messenger reined in his horse and left, conveying the order quickly.
"If there is no order, these guys will shoot out all the rockets." Liu Xingzuo smiled helplessly and said to the generals next to him: "You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are, and rockets are not cheap to build."
After a pause, he added: "Guo Shuai subsidizes the arsenal's capital expenditure a lot. If you can save it, let him save some!"
Zhang Dalu nodded repeatedly and said: "Although Guo Shuai doesn't care much about external things, he has spent tens to millions on our Dongjiang Army in the past few years!"
The generals clicked their tongues one after another, but they were full of admiration. Regardless of how they earned the money, just with this generous and generous investment, you can't accept it.
There are many rich people, and there are not a few who are richer than Guo Shuai. It can be seen that who has provided money to support the Dongjiang Army? When food was in short supply, it was Guo Shuai who raised funds in every possible way to enable the Dongjiang Army to tide over the difficulties.
Not to mention the arsenal, even the war horse I ride now has Guo Shuai's heavy investment.
"Jianlu has to go to war, be prepared." Liu Xingzuo's face became serious, but his voice was not nervous, and he ordered the generals, "Fight quickly and retreat quickly. Destroy this enemy. Jianlu's destruction is right in front of you.
"
All the generals bowed their hands and went to the troops they led, ready to attack.
Although Liu Xingzuo also wanted the flying cavalry to lose less men and horses, there were not many lancers, and their role was to disrupt the enemy's attack formation. The final decisive battle still had to be completed by the flying cavalry.
Of course, he also knew in his heart that regardless of the size of the flying cavalry losses, as long as the Jianlu Group advancing eastward could be surrounded and annihilated, the situation in Liaodong would undergo drastic changes, and this year's major counterattack would be an unchangeable fact.
"Amin, Dudu, Jierhalang! The three slave chiefs were crowned. This is a record second only to the Zunhua victory." Liu Xingzuo narrowed his eyes slightly and shot out a cold light.
As a close confidant of Guo Dajing, Liu Xingzuo knew what he was thinking and believed that the strength of the Dongjiang Army was growing rapidly and that it would not be far away to have the advantage of crushing him. In other words, Ping Liao was just around the corner.
Although Liu Xingzuo did not fully understand Guo Dajing's urgency, based on his admiration for Guo Dajing, he would do his best to support Guo Dajing.
Of course, this is also a good time for him to make contributions. The flying cavalry and the lance cavalry are the forces that Guo Dajing relies heavily on. Ping Liao will also become the main force in the battle in the future, which makes his future even brighter.
In Guo Dajing's vision, the army will be greatly reduced after Ping Liao. The infantry will be at most 20,000, or even less. The cavalry will be maintained at 30,000 to 40,000, and there may be more.
Liu Xingzuo agreed with this.
The biggest and most ferocious enemy has been defeated, so there is really no need to raise so many troops. For a place as big as Liaodong, post-war reconstruction will also require too much labor.
The mobility and combat capabilities of the cavalry are sufficient to defend Liaodong.
In fact, the Dongjiang Army may have only one enemy left at that time, and that was Lin Dan Khan. However, neither Guo Dajing nor Liu Xingzuo valued the strength of the Chahar tribe very much.
Liu Xingzuo was not entirely clear about Guo Dajing's thoughts.
Although the infantry has been reduced, muskets will be popularized among the people, and veterans and militia will be distributed. The force value of the entire Liaodong will not decrease but increase.
After pacifying Liao and annihilating the captives, conquering the Mongolian tribes in the north was indeed Guo Dajing's next battle plan.
Using Liaodong as a base, he will continue to expand territory northward and attack as far as Heilongjiang and Ussuri River, but he will not be satisfied.
The people of the Ming Dynasty need a broader place to live, and there are behemoths in the north that will rise. Although it will happen decades later, isn't it what a time traveler should do to prepare for a rainy day?
Another launch of the rocket interrupted Liu Xingzuo's thoughts. The rocket passing through the sky dimmed the sunlight, but made him purse his lips and reveal a cheerful smile.
Liu Xingzuo's judgment was correct. Two rocket salvos and the indiscriminate bombing of more than 400 rockets were enough for the establishment of the prisoner camp.
Flames rose in the camp and shrapnel flew across the camp. The Jianlu were completely unable to control the fire and suffered heavy casualties. Their expected defense did not happen, but failure was already imminent.
In the chaos, the panic-stricken Jianlu pulled their horses one after another without waiting for orders, rode up and galloped towards the outside of the camp.
Before they could reorganize their formation, the flying cavalry had already launched an attack.
The first to rush out was the Feibao Battalion to the south of the formation. Led by Fan Hualong and others, they spread out their ranks and charged diagonally towards the Jianlu outside the west gate of the camp.
The horse speed was not very fast at first, and the cavalrymen adjusted their distance while galloping. The speed was getting faster and faster, but they were still far from charging at full speed.
The charge of the cavalry wall does not rely on speed and impact to win. Tacit cooperation and fearless slashing are the keys to victory.
But Jianlu obviously didn't know the key. Seeing the enemy coming, under the hasty command of the officers, Jianlu's cavalry rushed up to fight. The speed of running became faster and faster, treating the confrontation as a collision and fighting.
The arrows flew through the air, causing casualties to the flying cavalry, but more arrows were blocked by the armor, making clanging sounds.
The cavalry line continued to charge and tightened the distance again to make up for the gap caused by casualties.
At a distance of thirty meters, the flying knight fired a crossbow arrow with his hand crossbow, and quickly raised his saber, which flashed with dazzling light under the sunlight.
The impact and slashing finally broke out at the moment of contact. People were thrown onto their backs, and blood and flesh splattered. Life and death only happened in a moment, and it had nothing to do with martial arts or riding skills. It just depended on who was braver and who had better luck.
Obviously, the Jianlu who charged unevenly suffered more casualties. The Jianlu who tried to parry and dodge, or passed through the gap between the enemy's cavalry, were almost without exception cut down from their horses.
But this is a human instinctive reaction. In battle, no one wants to kill the enemy, no one wants to protect himself, and no one fights with the mentality of losing both sides.
But this is the cruelty of hand-to-hand combat. The difference between superiority and inferiority, as well as life and death, only lasts for a moment. The slightest hesitation can only lead to death.
With an expression of unbelievable shock, Cen Ling Sele fell off his horse. Although he also hit his opponent, who also fell off his horse like him, this was not what he wanted.
Having experienced hundreds of battles, he thought that with his outstanding martial arts skills and skillful riding skills, he could kill more than one person and kill them vertically and horizontally.
Blood spurted out, and Sele fell on the snow. His strength was quickly drained, and his body's temperature was quickly lost.
"Is the enemy's saber so sharp?" His consciousness began to blur, and the question swayed in his mind for a moment, and then he fell into boundless darkness.
The weapons and equipment of the Dongjiang Army have been enhanced in almost all aspects, and even the sabers are constantly improving.
The technology of crucible steelmaking continues to mature and is beginning to be applied to sabers. Although the number is not enough to change all the flying knights, many flying knights have already changed their weapons.
The unlucky Seler was killed by such a sharp and hard saber. Although his opponent was also injured and fell off his horse, he still had a chance to survive.
The first row of charging flying cavalry had the highest casualty rate, but they killed more Jianlu and shocked the Jianlu who were proud of their cavalry shooting.
The second row of flying cavalry rushed forward again, with thundering hooves and dazzling sabers, carrying an invincible and courageous momentum.