Chapter 896 0891 [Annan Barbarian Soldiers Encounter Firearm Version of Mandarin Duck Formation]

When Liu Yannian returned to Jiangxi, the war between the four countries besieging Annan had ended.

The first to send troops were Champa and Chenla. The two countries were at odds with each other, but they jointly attacked Annam two years ago.

At first they were victorious, but conflicts intensified because of their victories. After all, they are feuding, and they can join forces when they have a common enemy. If they win a battle and grab the spoils, they will inevitably fall out.

Then, they were defeated by Annan!

It is estimated that they have not yet recovered from the loss of troops and generals. They only sent 10,000 troops to capture the city this time, and only 8,000 troops to Zhenla. The former started fighting on the border between the two countries in early November of last year's lunar calendar. The latter arrived on the battlefield only in late November.

The Golden Tooth Kingdom did not directly fight against Annan, but instead attacked the tribes affiliated with Annan in the northwest - these tribes were in Laos in later generations.

Yang Zaixing sent troops in the ninth month of the lunar calendar and arrived in Menzhou in the middle of the tenth lunar month.

It was about 20 degrees at this time and the weather was extremely cool.

Under his command were 6,000 new field troops, 3,000 Guangxi garrison troops, 5,000 Guangxi local soldiers, and 25,000 grain transporters of all ethnic groups.

Menzhou was located near Zhennanguan in later generations, and Ming Dynasty and Annan respectively built related castles.

The terrain of the fortress on the Annan side is even more dangerous!

Before Yang Zaixing's troops arrived, Annan had already received the news. After all, traveling in mountainous areas was too slow.

"Start attacking the stronghold tomorrow!"

"General, the envoy from Annan wants to see you."

"Bring him here."

Before the two armies started fighting, Annan's envoy had arrived, or it could be said that he had been waiting for a long time.

The envoy's name was Zhang Xianlu. He bowed to Yang Zaixing and said, "Zhang Xianlu, our envoy, pays homage to the general of the Great Tomorrow!"

Yang Zaixing said: "If you have something to say, say it quickly, and then fight after you say it."

Zhang Xianlu said: "As the saying goes, divisions are famous for their troops. I wonder why the Ming Dynasty sent troops this time?"

Yang Zaixing said: "You paint scales on rhinos and treat them as unicorns as tribute. You are guilty of deceiving the emperor!"

"This was the case throughout the previous Song Dynasty," Zhang Xianlu said.

Yang Zaixing asked: "In the previous Song Dynasty, there were all stupid emperors, and they were deceived by you. Do you think that the emperor of tomorrow is also a stupid emperor?"

Zhang Xianlu quickly explained: "That's not the case. Our country is just following the old rules. After the envoy returned to China, our Lord regretted it very much. Next year, he will send another envoy to Luoyang to plead guilty. I beg the general to withdraw his troops!"

Yang Zaixing sneered: "You can retreat. Annan must return the land of two states, two caves, six counties and eight passes, and return the tens of thousands of people and their descendants who were kidnapped back then."

"this……"

Zhang Xianlu tried to stall for time, and it would be easier to wait until the weather was hot: "These can all be discussed. I can't make the decision, so I will return home immediately to report and ask the general to postpone the attack on the stronghold."

"You go back and discuss it." Yang Zaixing, of course, wanted to fight first and then talk.

Zhang Xianlu left overnight and galloped back to Thang Long House (Hanoi) under the stars.

The next day, Yang Zaixing began to attack the stronghold.

Annan guard Liu Chun was not very afraid. He had a thousand soldiers guarding the pass and thousands of Annan barbarians. The terrain of Guanzhai is dangerous, and it is no problem to hold on. It can be delayed until the weather gets hotter. Daming will definitely choose to withdraw its troops by then.

He said to the barbarian chiefs who assisted in guarding the pass: "There are not many enemies. As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to hold off until the weather is hot. Your Majesty has already said that whichever tribe makes great achievements will be married to the princess. When all the enemies have withdrawn Let’s go and go to Ming Dynasty to rob the property and women!”

As soon as these words came out, all the barbarian generals were excited.

Throughout the northern and northwest mountainous areas of Annan, various barbarian tribes lived.

When the Vietnamese Li Dynasty invaded the border of the Northern Song Dynasty, they first married the barbarian chiefs, married princesses or noble daughters, and also gave them some benefits. Then the barbarians were ordered to repeatedly harass the Northern Song Dynasty, rob the population and supplies, and then run away. The Song army could not find the enemy when they pursued them. If the Song army pursued deeply, they would be ambushed by barbarians.

After the war between the two countries, Annan went on a military and financial collapse, and gradually began to focus on internal affairs.

It’s been a long time since I married a princess, and I haven’t supported the barbarians’ march north to plunder for a long time.

Hearing that they were going back to their old profession, the barbarian chiefs cheered and each led their troops to defend the fortress.

There are three Annan Walled Forts here, including Zhennanguan and Longmenguan in later generations, all of which are now under Annan's control. The Ming army controlled Guanqian Pass further north.

Annan did not build a fort at Zhennanguan, but built a mountain fortress at Hengpo Ridge to the north.

"You lead people to guard the west!" Yang Zaixing said.

"Yes!" Li Herong cupped his fists and handed over his hands.

The person who served as deputy general to Yang Zaixing was Li Herong, the general under Zhong Xiang.

This man was forced by Zhong Xiang's brother to join the Ming Dynasty, and later served as a garrison general in Guangxi. He was very good at suppressing barbarians, so he was selected by Yang Zaixing.

Li Herong only brought 500 new troops and 500 garrison troops, and they formed formations and stationed themselves on the main roads between several passes.

To the west is the later Longmen Pass, to the southeast is Hengpo Ridge, and to the south there are mountains where enemy soldiers may appear.

Yang Zaixing left the civilians at Guanqian Pass and led the rest of the troops to attack Henpoling.

Annan guard Liu Chun climbed up the mountain and looked over, and he said happily: "The enemy general is arrogant and only sends a few troops to guard the flanks and rear. We will hold here and send troops to attack the rear. Once we win, we can take advantage of the victory to pursue and block the enemy's main force from the front and rear. At the foot of the mountain!”

Liu Chun ordered his soldiers to defend Hengpo Ridge, and sent people to notify the defenders in the direction of Longmen Pass. He even sent 200 elite soldiers to climb over the mountains from the south to attack in a surprise attack.

Yang Zaixing led the main force and dragged the artillery forward.

Most of the artillery in his army was small, and only two of them could be used for attacking, and the caliber of these two guns was not large.

However, the Annan fortress on Hengpoling was a weak earth and stone structure, and its ability to defend against artillery shells was far inferior to that of the rammed earth wall.

It was difficult to find the angle of artillery fire, and several teams of infantry protected the gunners and looked for a suitable position to fire.

The rest of the troops were also sent to occupy the nearby mountains.

…

Li Luohan led two or three thousand barbarian soldiers to attack Li Herong's troops from the direction of Longmen Pass.

Although Li Luohan was a barbarian chief, his biological mother was a princess of the Vietnamese Li Dynasty. He himself was given the national surname Li, and he was a devout Buddhist, so he changed his name to Li Luohan.

Such a barbarian tribe was almost assimilated by Annan.

"There are enemies in the west!"

On a hillside in the north, there was a Ming army lookout using a telescope to observe the situation.

After Li Luohan led his troops out of the mountain, he was immediately discovered by the Ming army lookout. The light cavalry saw the flag signal from the lookout and ran over to report the enemy situation.

Li Herong said to the soldiers who were sitting cross-legged to rest: "Line up and kill the enemy!"

Five hundred new field troops and five hundred garrison troops slowly stood up and quickly lined up.

Not to mention that these new troops were very calm, even the garrison troops were not afraid at all. The Ming army had already gained confidence.

The new troops were equipped with flintlock rifles and formed an improved version of the firearms mandarin duck formation.

The garrison troops did not have flintlock rifles and still used the old version of the mandarin duck formation. However, the wolf soldiers were cancelled and replaced with bows and long spears.

Li Luohan led his troops to kill and found that there were only a thousand Ming troops. He was immediately delighted and shouted: "There are few people on the opposite side. Kill them and you will win! Charge!"

Two or three thousand Annan barbarians rushed in a mess, and the formation was in chaos.

They actually knew how to encircle, and each sent hundreds of people to go around the two sides of the Ming army.

"Boom boom boom!"

About forty steps apart, several small cannons of the new army fired shotgun shells.

There were not many casualties among the Annan barbarians, but there were many wounded. After being hit by the shotgun, some had broken bones, while some did not even have broken bones. The power of this small cannon was too small.

The effect was obvious. The wounded barbarians screamed, which made the friendly troops around them panic.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

About thirty steps apart, the captains of the new army led their musketeers to shoot freely.

After a burst of gunfire, the Annan barbarians began to get confused.

Although the Annan barbarians suffered few casualties after being attacked by muskets and artillery continuously, they were afraid of the unknown. Some continued to charge, some stopped to watch, and some even began to retreat.

The barbarians relied on their blood and courage.

Just wake them up.

"Shoot an arrow!"

Then came the volley of bows and crossbows from the garrison's mandarin duck team.

"Throw a spear!"

The garrison also had rattan shield bearers. The giant shields of the long shield bearers had legs and could be placed on the ground without hand support. Together with the rattan shield bearers, they drew their javelins and threw them at the Annan barbarians.

Each rattan shield bearer was equipped with three javelins.

After throwing three javelins, the crossbowmen had already started the second round of shooting.

The flintlock bearers were about to finish reloading.

At this time, the enemy, after encountering muskets and artillery, encountered two rounds of crossbows and three rounds of javelins. These barbarians were in complete chaos, with more and more fleeing or stopping, and fewer and fewer daring to charge. Many people stood in place and fought back with earthen bows.

Li Luohan was also frightened at this time, but he still shouted and ordered: "Just charge and you will win. Charge!"

But Li Luohan's own soldiers only had a few hundred people, and the rest were all soldiers from other tribes.

Just as Li Luohan was charging, a tribal chieftain directly led more than 200 people to flee.

"Bang bang bang!"

The flintlock bearers of the new army finally fired the second shot.

Because the distance was too close, the hit rate was close to 100%.

Li Luohan, who was charging in front, was suddenly shot and fell down.

Li Herong drew his sword and shouted, "Line up and move forward!"

As the military horn sounded, a thousand Ming soldiers lined up and marched forward.

The Annan barbarians had already collapsed.

The barbarians under Li Luohan's command didn't even care about his body, and turned to flee in the direction of Longmen Pass.

The power of the mandarin duck formation has not yet been fully exerted, because the two sides have not yet engaged in close combat.

Li Herong left 200 reserve troops to continue to guard the original position, and the remaining 800 people chased at full speed to occupy the fortress in the direction of Longmen Pass.

More than 20 Ming light cavalrymen riding on southwest short horses also chased the collapsed Annan barbarians and killed them all the way.

The 200 Annan elites who came over the mountains from the south were so scared that they retreated immediately after seeing this situation, and did not dare to enter the battlefield again.

When Li Herong captured the fortress in the direction of Longmen Pass, Yang Zaixing was still choosing a location to test the artillery.

"Retreat quickly!"

When Liu Chun learned that the friendly fortress had fallen, he was so scared that he abandoned the fortress and withdrew with his entire army.

If he didn't leave, the Ming army would be able to cross the mountains and ridges from the west and get behind him in one or two days to block his retreat.

The Annan defenders retreated all the way to the vicinity of Lang Son and sent people back to Thang Long Prefecture to frantically ask for help.

Yang Zaixing did not pursue the victory to attack Lang Son, but asked the local soldiers of Yongzhou to guard the passes in Munzhou. He led his troops to attack Qiyuanzhou in the northwest.

Qiyuanzhou was established in the Tang Dynasty and later belonged to Qixi, Lang Son Province, Vietnam.

This place used to be a vassal territory of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was gradually controlled by the Vietnamese Li Dynasty, and then by Nong Zhigao and his son. After the Northern Song Dynasty fought back, it was impossible to station troops for a long time and tacitly accepted Annan's occupation of Qiyuanzhou.

After conquering Qiyuan Prefecture, we continued to the northwest to Guangyuan Prefecture, which was the territory conquered by the Northern Song Dynasty and given to Annan.

The order given to Yang Zaixing by the Ministry of War was to make Annan suffer, but not to destroy Annan.

Therefore, Yang Zaixing wanted to take back the lost territory of the Northern Song Dynasty, which would be a great achievement!