Chapter 809: Thunder Array
The night wind blew.
The willow trees on the river bank rustled.
The armies of both sides confronted each other like beasts about to fight, but no one took action throughout the day.
At dusk, Luther observed that the royal army seemed to be cooking around the tent.
When it was pitch dark, he sent a team of 200 people to row across the river and touch the tent of the Yanzhou army.
In order to stop the attack of the Yanzhou army, they blew up all the bridges on the Yuntai River.
The team went ashore and headed towards the camp of the Yanzhou army under the cover of night.
When they were 300 meters away from the tent, the leading mercenary took out a telescope to observe.
They did not dare to get closer, fearing that they would be discovered.
This distance was neither far nor near, just right for observation.
Under the telescope, the tent of the Yanzhou army was quiet at this moment, with only some Yanzhou soldiers training.
And these soldiers were lazy, and they did not seem to worry about the other side's sneak attack at all.
Between the tents, there was a burning bonfire.
Through the light of the campfire, they found that the enemy's artillery was arranged in an irregular manner.
The muzzles were not uniformly aimed outward.
What surprised them most was that there was a row of muskets leaning against the wooden frame next to the campfire.
And there was basically such a wooden frame in front of each tent.
This means that the soldiers of the Yanzhou army were not on guard at all times, but were sleeping without any defense.
In general, the enemy's defense was very loose.
After detecting this, the mercenaries quickly returned and reported the news to Luther.
"General Luther, this is a great opportunity." Wang Xie has not slept yet, just waiting for this result, "Obviously, the army of King Yan is too conceited, which is called arrogant soldiers will be defeated. If you miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to fight a comeback."
Luther was also in ups and downs at this moment, and his heart jumped unconvincingly.
Even if this is a trap, as long as their army can get within 300 meters of the camp, they can make the soldiers rush in.
He lost some confidence in the confrontation with King Yan's firearms.
With numbers, he might be able to win a hand-to-hand fight with the King of Yan.
Thinking of this, he nodded to Wang Xie, "Immediately order the soldiers to cross the river, take off their shoes, and quietly surround their tents. When the cannons sound here, attack the tents."
Worried that his number was not enough, he said, "Go to Jinling City to ask for another 50,000."
They retreated to the second trench, and Xie Duan, Han Zheng and Wang Zian transferred soldiers from the east line to the trench on the west line, replenishing their troops to 200,000.
Only about 50,000 were left on the east line to prevent the King of Yan from splitting his troops for a sneak attack.
After all, the King of Yan and his generals have always been tricky in using troops.
But in order to ensure that this sneak attack would be successful, he felt that it was not enough, so he borrowed another 50,000.
After all, there were 100,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Jinling City, and it was useless to keep them.
If the trench was lost, Jinling City could not be defended.
Wang Xie nodded and immediately sent people into the city.
Soon, Xie Duan, Han Zheng, and Wang Zian arrived, and with them came 50,000 soldiers and horses.
This incident also alarmed the three of them.
They lost about 70,000 people in the Niutou Beach battle.
When the news reached Jinling, the three of them were restless.
They thought that Luther and his 20,000 mercenaries were there, but they didn't expect to be defeated.
Moreover, it took only two days for the Yan Wang's army to take over Niutou Beach, which made them desperate.
So, they learned that there was a way to decide the outcome in one battle.
They immediately came to the trench fortifications to watch the battle in person.
"General Luther, these 50,000 are all the elite of my Xie family. They are all handed over to you. You must annihilate the Yan Wang army and kill their prestige." Xie Duan said.
Clenching his fist, he continued: "Besides, the Yan Wang is in the camp. Kill the Yan Wang, and Dasong will be ours."
When Xie Duan said this, he was trembling with excitement.
In the Niutou Beach battle, Wang Xie discovered the Yan Wang across the river through a telescope.
Therefore, he was sure that the King of Yan was in the camp.
This was also the reason why he and Han Zheng and the other three were so excited.
In their opinion, the King of Yan had never lost any battles, big or small, since he went to Yanzhou, so it was reasonable for him to be arrogant.
But this time, they wanted him to die in his arrogance.
"I will do my best." Luther looked solemn.
He also wanted to destroy the King of Yan.
The battle at Niutou Beach made him realize that the King of Yan was a powerful enemy.
This was a huge threat to Britain's interests in the East.
It was a great opportunity to take advantage of the civil strife in Dasong to contain him.
After cheering each other up, Luther summoned the generals to deploy a sneak attack.
"Let those who can swim swim across the river directly, and those who can't swim take a boat across the river." Luther ordered.
It would take a lot of time for an army of 250,000 just to cross the river.
He estimated that after completing the siege, it would be almost possible to launch an attack before dawn.
The generals nodded one after another, and each received the positions of their soldiers.
Afterwards, he returned to the army and led the soldiers across the river. At the same time, according to Luther's order, he asked the soldiers to take off their shoes.
After crossing the river, the barefoot soldiers either held swords or carried bayonet muskets towards the camp of the Yanzhou army.
Because they were barefoot, there was no sound when they walked.
The night was still silent, and the darkness concealed the figures of the Shi clan soldiers.
Walking around the camp, the 250,000 Shi clan troops surrounded the camp of the Yanzhou army.
After the siege was completed, a soldier immediately returned to the trench fortifications and told Luther the news.
Hearing this, Luther took out his pocket watch from his arms and glanced at it. It was now the Mao time in Dasong.
Because it was still spring, the days were short and long, and the sky was still dark.
He nodded and gave orders to the artillery.
Then, three thunderous cannon shots from the trench fortifications resounded through the sky.
"Kill!"
At this moment, the soldiers of the powerful tribe who surrounded the tent shouted and rushed to the camp of the Yanzhou army.
Two hundred meters away from the camp, the patrolling soldiers of the royal palace immediately ran towards the barracks.
However, these royal palace soldiers did not walk in a straight line, but a winding route.
But the powerful tribe soldiers who rushed over obviously did not think much.
Under the order of the general, they just wanted to rush into the barracks and kill all the Yanzhou soldiers.
However, when they entered the barracks within 200 meters, the soldier running in the front suddenly felt that he had stepped on something.
This thing was still dented, he didn't think much, raised his foot and continued to look at the rush.
But at this moment, there was a loud "bang!" and a huge ball of fire rushed out from the ground.
The soldiers at the center of the explosion were immediately covered in blood and flesh, and the nearby soldiers were also blown away by the shock wave. Many soldiers' eardrums were almost shattered, and there was only tinnitus in this world.
This was just the beginning. Next, there were a series of explosions around the entire camp.
The sudden explosion stunned the soldiers of the Shi clan and slowed down their steps.
At this time, the soldiers of the royal palace rushed out of the tents, picked up their rifles, and went to their positions in an orderly manner.
At the same time, the artillery quickly moved the artillery to the designated position, ready to fight back against the sneak attack of the Shi clan army.