Chapter 3, Opportunities must not be missed, once lost they will not return

Gao Jie was taken aback and stammered, "My Lord, a surprise attack? How is that possible? Liu Zongmin currently commands at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops, and not far from them are Li Guo's 20,000 elite soldiers. If we rashly charge in, we are likely to be caught in a pincer attack..."

Gao Jie became excited; with Liu Zongmin absent from the main camp and the artillery also relocated, was this not the best opportunity for him to launch a surprise attack on the bandits

Furthermore, command Bai Guang'en's infantry to mobilize towards Li Guo's main camp, ensuring the protection of our flanks. This time, we must teach the arrogant Liu Zongmin a good lesson!

At present, how could Zhu Jie possibly understand Liu Zongmin's intentions? After a whole night of fierce fighting, even if Zhu Jie is exceptionally skilled, he has become utterly exhausted. If he were to encounter the bombardment from the peasant army again, it would truly be extremely perilous

Yes, Sir Supervisor

However, if it were not scouts sent out by ourselves, who else would dare to openly provoke Liu Zongmin near his camp? The hundreds of casualties among the soldiers are not fabricated

Report

Sun Chuanting shouted loudly

Without the supply of food, how can one even think of fighting a war? It is feared that before the decisive battle arrives, the army will completely collapse. At this moment, Sun Chuanting finally realized that the continuous victories were merely a few sweet dates prepared by Li Zicheng, intended to completely annihilate his army within the borders of Henan

"My Lord Cavalry Commander! We have just received news that for some unknown reason, a large number of troops from Liu Zongmin's faction in the southeast have begun to besiege the Luojiao Mountain forest, and now even artillery has been dispatched there!"

Bang

Li Xiuxian's face was flushed, his head lowered, and he spoke in a low voice

Sun Chuanting nodded and replied, "Absolutely true, Gao Jie. As long as we can defeat Liu Zongmin, the situation on the battlefield will be determined, and for Li Zicheng to turn the tide will be as difficult as ascending to the heavens"

In the northwest direction, Sun Chuanting is currently in a state of anxiety. The army has advanced a thousand miles alone, and although they have achieved consecutive victories, it is truly unexpected that Henan has fallen into such dire straits. Almost all the prefectures and counties behind him are devoid of surplus grain, and all the food in the government granaries has been plundered by the bandits

As the saying goes, even immortals find it hard to escape in a puff of smoke. Although the artillery of the peasant army may not be very powerful, once it is upon them, it is absolutely beyond Zhu Jie's capacity to withstand. It is not just a matter of him being a special forces soldier; even a tank cannot withstand the bombardment of artillery

Liu Zongmin delivered a resounding slap to Li Xiuxian, shouting: "Good-for-nothing, useless! With over 1,000 people, you can't even handle a few small spies. What use are you? You've embarrassed me completely!"

"Issue a command to gather five General Cannons from the artillery battalion and bombard Deer Horn Mountain! I do not believe that the Ming army's spies can withstand the assault of our artillery. All sentries in the main camp, hold your positions firmly in every corner of the mountains and forests, encircle them completely. Once the spies appear, kill them with all your might, regardless of life or death!"

Sun Chuanting's eyes sparkled with brilliance as he shouted: "Immediately gather all the cavalry under your command, and together with Niu Chenghu, launch a surprise attack on Liu Zongmin's army!"

Suddenly, Sun Chuanting's eyes lit up; Liu Zongmin's attention was entirely focused on Deer Horn Mountain, leaving the camp's defenses vulnerable. This was indeed a prime opportunity for him to take action

In the mountains and forests, the encirclement is still ongoing, and it is now approaching noon. With good visibility, the soldiers of the peasant army finally discovered the traces of the "traitor." However, capturing the traitor in one fell swoop proved to be exceedingly difficult. After half a day's time, the peasant army has not been able to harm a single hair on Zhu Jie's body, but instead continues to suffer casualties, even losing one of their sentinels!

Gao Jie’s eyes lit up as he asked, "Sir Supervisor, is this true?"

Liu Zongmin is now like a powder keg, where even the slightest spark could ignite his fury. Even Li Xiuxian dares not approach too closely, fearing that General Quan, in a fit of rage, might endanger his own life here.

The Deputy General Gao Jie hurried over and replied, "My Lord Supervisor, what are your orders?"

Zhu Jie completely provoked Liu Zongmin's anger. This battle was originally a decisive confrontation between the righteous army and Sun Chuanting. Under the guidance of the King of Chuang, Sun Chuanting's large army had already penetrated deep into enemy territory, facing imminent danger. The purpose of this march was to cut off and press Sun Chuanting's flank from the front, ready to launch a counterattack against Sun Chuanting's forces at any moment, aiming to defeat them in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, a sudden appearance of a minor character, a small spy, managed to hold back the large army for an entire night right under his nose, which was utterly detestable!

Li Xiuxian dared not to refute, and could only stand silently in place

The entire Ming army camp sprang into action. Before long, ten thousand cavalrymen surged out of the camp, charging directly towards Liu Zongmin's main camp

Sun Chuanting narrowed his eyes slightly. Ming army scouts? The scouts he had dispatched had never appeared in large numbers near Liu Zongmin's troops. Even if they did appear, how could a few scouts remain unscathed under the siege of thousands of men, and even cause the bandits to suffer repeated setbacks? No, it was definitely not his scouts!

Sun Chuanting sneered, "Gao Jie, the present is not like the past; now is our best opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Liu Zongmin! I have just received intelligence that at Lu Jiao Mountain, the bandits are encircling the spies, and Liu Zongmin has even personally gone to Lu Jiao Mountain, bringing artillery with him, resulting in heavy casualties! The main camp is currently vulnerable; we must not let this opportunity slip away, for it will not come again. This is the best chance for me and my comrades to defeat Liu Zongmin and deal a heavy blow to the bandits!"

As Sun Chuanting sat on a large青石 contemplating the next step in the battle, a scout rushed over swiftly

General Quan

Liu Zongmin shouted angrily

Gao Jie

Sun Chuanting was taken aback, stood up, and hurriedly asked, "What is the situation?"

At this time, Liu Zongmin was still dealing with Zhu Jie. Although the main camp was very close to Luojiao Mountain, the artillery was too heavy and difficult to move. Even for the distance of over ten miles, it would take more than half a day to traverse.

The scout hesitated for a moment and replied: "According to the intelligence we have gathered, it seems that the bandits discovered our scouts in Deer Horn Mountain last night and launched a night raid. Unexpectedly, Liu Zongmin sent over a thousand men, all of whom returned defeated, with casualties exceeding three hundred, and the number of casualties continues to rise. Now, at the foot of Deer Horn Mountain, there are injured bandits and corpses everywhere. Liu Zongmin is furious and is preparing to mobilize the artillery from the main camp to bombard Deer Horn Mountain"

This time, we will use artillery to completely flush this traitor out of the mountains and forests, and then capture him in one fell swoop