Chapter 606: This Battle, No Sword
Three days passed in a flash, and the confrontation between the two armies was peaceful. The coalition camp was heavily guarded, and Lawang Bacha gradually felt relieved.
As the sun was setting, Dundub winked at several of his generals and asked his confidants to guard outside the tent before entering.
"Tonight is the agreed time! Coincidentally, our men will be on night patrol today, so we don't need any excuses."
"We've already located all the crucial locations of food, fodder, weapons, and horses. Deploy three hundred-man teams. At midnight, set fire to the camp!"
"I will personally lead 500 men to Lawang Bacha's central army and wait for an opportunity to kill their commanders. By then, the coalition forces will be leaderless and will naturally fall into chaos."
"The most important are the two fortresses outside the eastern gate. Each houses 500 soldiers, but they're easy to defend and difficult to attack, making them extremely unfavorable for the Marshal's army. Mingzheng, you're going on night patrol today. I've prepared a lot of food, all infused with medicinal herbs. Take it with you when you can and share it with them."
"Don't worry, Commander!" A man grinned. "These past few days, I've become very familiar with the commanders of those two fortresses. Yesterday, we even said we wanted to find an opportunity to have some fun together."
Then, Dundub glanced at everyone and said, "After the chaos in the camp has subsided, everyone come and join me, and then we will go to meet the Marshal's troops!"
…
It was another sleepless night in Jia Cong’s central military tent!
Troops from all directions have been dispatched in advance. In this battle, Chen Ruiwen and Shi Nai's troops are the main force. As long as everything goes well, it will not be difficult to capture the enemy's camp.
In addition, ambushes were set up to the north and south of the camp, and even to the rear of the camp, Jia Cong sent a troop in advance.
Seeing that the clepsydra had reached the appointed time, Jia Cong stood up and instructed his guards, "Tell Shi Nai, Chen Ruiwen, and Liu Fang to advance!"
After a slight hesitation, Jia Cong said indifferently, "In this battle, we will not put down our swords, and we will not take any prisoners!"
Jia Cong's calm words made Shen Tu Mou shiver. At this moment, he was even glad that he had surrendered. Otherwise, how much better could the troops under his command be than this coalition force?
The Liangchuan region was indeed powerful, even comparable to the Xuhen and Wudeng tribes. However, after losing 50,000 elite troops, the Xishan and Yechuan tribes were no longer eligible to remain outside the rule of Daqian after the battle in Shuzhong.
…
At midnight, flames suddenly shot up into the sky from the quiet camp of the coalition forces.
Dundub led some of his troops to the central army tent, leaving the rest behind to follow the plan. He himself, accompanied by two or three of his men, hurried to the front of the tent and said, "Brother, our forage and fodder supply camp has suddenly been flooded. I've sent the night patrol to put out the fire and report this to the clan leader."
The guards outside the tent were also startled. "Commander Dunduobu, please wait a moment. I will go and inform the clan leader."
As soon as the guard turned around, a man beside Dundub stepped forward and inserted the long knife in his hand directly into the back of the guard.
The Central Army Tent wasn't unprotected. On the contrary, as the most important location in the camp, it was heavily guarded! All guards. Furthermore, several hundred-man teams patrolled the perimeter of the tent day and night.
However, Dundub is now one of "their own people" and has been praised by the clan leader himself. Therefore, he passed through all the protective barriers and went directly to the central military tent.
Dundub gave his subordinates a wink, then hurried into the tent.
Not long after, he came out with a calm expression and hurried away with his men again.
Not long after, a soldier came hurriedly to report. Just after entering the central military camp, a sharp cry was heard , "Oh no! Chief Lawang Bacha is dead!"
Dundub not only killed Lawang Bacha, but also silently eliminated at least a dozen tribal leaders before they could react. Meanwhile, Shi Nai and his men, led by Mingzheng, had already passed through the two fortresses and arrived at the main gate.
When the guards at the gate saw Mingzheng returning from patrol, they immediately withdrew their defenses. However, the next moment , a large group of soldiers came to charge.
It was true that the coalition forces had 20,000 soldiers, but Dundub's soldiers were causing trouble and setting fires everywhere. Even many commanders were killed secretly, causing chaos in the entire camp. On the outside, Shi Nai's army broke into the enemy camp without any effort.
There were more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. The infantry formed a large formation and crushed forward, while the cavalry flew around like ghosts in the dark night, reaping lives one by one.
Some of the coalition forces panicked and tried to surrender, but the Daqian troops ignored them, continuing their frenzied slaughter like machines! Finally, the soldiers in the main camp realized that not only had the main camp been breached, but the enemy clearly had no intention of leaving them any chance of survival. Soon, small groups of soldiers began to flee in all directions.
However, they didn't know that an ambush had been set up outside the entire camp, waiting for them to fall into the trap.
The fighting lasted from the dark night to dawn, and from dawn to sunset, a whole day and two nights, until the dawn of another day, when the noisy battlefield spanning at least ten miles gradually stopped.
The generals returned to Jia Cong's camp and reported on the battle progress. The enemy was leaderless, and with the support of Dunduobu's 3,000 men, the battle went extremely smoothly. The Daqian side suffered approximately 4,000 casualties, while the enemy had a total of 23,000 men. Over 20,000 were beheaded, with only a small number missing in the chaos.
"Order all troops to clean up the battlefield and rest on the spot!"
Jia Cong gave the order with some fatigue, and then asked all the generals to disperse.
Sitting alone in the large tent, Jia Cong's face remained calm, yet a hint of grief lingered in his eyes. Since the 120,000 troops had arrived in Shu from the capital, they had defeated and slain over 150,000 men. However, their own losses had also been significant. Countless generals of all ranks had been killed in battle, including Ma Shang.
He is the commander-in-chief of an army and cannot show cowardice in front of anyone, but he is also a flesh-and-blood person.
He is not made of iron, and he will feel sad, but the war will continue.
Lifting the teacup from the table and slowly pouring it onto the ground, Jia Cong muttered to himself, "Brothers, if there is an afterlife, I will make amends to you again!"
After one night, all of Jia Cong's sadness had disappeared, and he returned to his previous calm and composed self.
Most of the troops were allowed to rest, but Jia Cong began to plan to capture Jiajiang and Emei. Although Shi Nai had led his troops to attack these two cities before, the enemy remained closed most of the time. Therefore, until now, these two cities are still in the hands of the enemy.
