knife

Chapter 450 The first battle is the decisive battle

(I've been incredibly busy lately, working while also writing a self-criticism. Uh, it's about the things that happened at work a while ago, which, in reality, have nothing to do with me, but sometimes that's just how helpless I am, so I still have to write the self-criticism.)
The biggest difference between fighting in your own home and fighting in someone else's home is that one side can act recklessly, while the other side has to worry about their own bottles and jars.

Therefore, Jinta Tadashi's strategy was to try his best to find Angen's main force and fight him in a decisive battle.

He couldn't let these barbarian soldiers run rampant in his home; he had already witnessed their depravity several years ago.

Wherever it passed, the earth was truly covered in a vast expanse of white, completely clean.

If things turn out like this, even if I eventually defeat An Xuan, what will I have left?

Their belongings were almost completely destroyed.

The population has been almost entirely lost.
What is the significance of such a victory?
Will it take many more years to recover?
I can't wait, and I can't afford to wait.

Therefore, early detection and early intervention are the best strategies.

Renta Tadashi was quite confident about the outcome of the final battle.

The barbarian soldiers were indeed quite strong, but they only had about 10,000 cavalrymen, and their equipment was always very poor. Even though they surrendered to Jebe and obeyed his every command, Jebe was still wary of them, and they never got any of the good stuff.

This was the case even when the Yuan Dynasty was still powerful; now Jebe himself is so poor he's practically licking chaff.

The Rendo family has over 20,000 infantry and cavalry, all of whom are well-equipped elite troops. They are not at a disadvantage against the barbarians. Moreover, the Eagle Bandits have already agreed to cooperate with the Rendo family to wipe out the barbarians, although they have asked the Rendo family to pay in advance.

This request was quite rude, but since Ren Duozhong needed his help, he readily agreed.

Money meant nothing to him now. As long as he could defeat the barbarians and protect his family, these cattle and sheep were nothing. Only a poor, inexperienced bandit like the Eagle Bandit would risk his life for a little money.

Renta-chō wanted a decisive battle, and so did Angen.
For An Xuan, combat was never the problem; the problem was his logistics.

For this operation, Jebe only provided enough food for a dozen days, and the rest was summed up in one sentence: "Eat from the enemy."

Therefore, on his way forward, An Xuan needed to sweep away everything in order to obtain the supplies he needed.

However, such supplies are unstable and have major flaws. Once supplies are cut off, An Xuan knows all too well the character of his men.

I'm afraid it will be difficult to control at that time.

An Xuan was most afraid that Ren Duozhong would play hide-and-seek with him and then carry out a scorched-earth policy.

In such a vast area, finding the enemy's main force is no easy task, and those clearly defined locations are surrounded by high walls and deep fortifications. Sending barbarian soldiers, who have no experience in siege warfare, to attack such places would be suicide.

Therefore, An Xuan desperately wanted Ren Duozhong to come out and fight with him in the field.

The two sides agree on the same thing.

Three years later, on the banks of the Tuotuo River, more than a hundred miles from Yandu, the two armies met head-on.

This spring has been dry, and the Tuotuo River has very little water. Although it has not dried up yet, large sections of the riverbed are exposed, and the two rivers are facing each other across the Tuotuo River.

In the past, when the water volume was plentiful, people could only look at the river with longing, but now it is within reach. Tens of thousands of cavalrymen, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Moreover, the barbarian soldiers had no habit of fighting in formation; they simply gathered together as usual. The only army that looked imposing was An Xuan's central army under the fluttering banner.

An Xuan's trump card was his central army of over a thousand men. No matter how poor An Xuan was, every member of this cavalry was armored, and they were equipped with the best possible weapons and protection.

This is just like the Balut behind Rendochu.

With the sound of drums, the Rendo family's army was the first to move.

The Renta family, with half infantry and half cavalry and carrying a large amount of military supplies, began to deploy their forces.

Counter-attacking is Ren Duozhong's strategy this time.

The infantry formed a tight formation to lure An Xuan into attacking, while the cavalry pressed and maneuvered from both flanks, hoping to completely encircle An Xuan's troops.

Once this tactical strategy is achieved, the outcome of this battle will be a foregone conclusion.

"Where are the eagle bandits located now?"

"Chieftain, Guanshan said they won't arrive at the battlefield until at least this afternoon!" Pugu En reported. "Guanshan made a solemn oath. Although these people are not very virtuous, they are extremely trustworthy, which is one of the reasons they have been able to survive. Since they said they would arrive at noon, they will definitely arrive around noon!"

"These damned thieves are trying to take advantage of the situation. By midday, the battle is probably already in its second half!" Ren Duozhong looked up at the rising sun in the east.

"Chieftain, that was probably the most crucial moment. The arrival of these reinforcements was enough to crush the enemy's morale!" Pugu En laughed.

Ren Duozhong thought this way, and An Xuan was naturally not stupid either. Moreover, he now had Xiang Jun, a senior general from the Zhi Qiu Yuan of the Beiting Protectorate, and his assembled subordinates by his side.

“Faced with infantrymen clad in armor and tightly arrayed in formation, cavalry don’t have many options!” Xiang Jun pointed to the layers upon layers of infantry formation opposite them. He had to admit that the Renduo family’s infantry were of good quality; after all, it wasn’t easy to form a reasonably orderly formation to counter cavalry in such a short time. “Unless absolutely necessary, cavalry should not challenge such a formation!”

An Xuan laughed: "Of course, I'm being silly again. But it seems he wants to use his cavalry to drive me away and force me to touch this stone."

"The cavalry will advance from both flanks, while the infantry will advance slowly!" Xiang Jun said, "I must say, it's a good idea, but I have serious doubts about whether their infantry can maintain such discipline as they advance."

“I’m going to attack his left flank first!” An Xuan laughed. “That means we’ll fight on the outside, forcing his right flank to take a bigger detour to outmaneuver me.”

"Keep moving to the left, leading the Renduo family's cavalry to follow me. This is like a whirlpool in a great river. At first, it won't be very big, but as the water volume increases, the whirlpool's suction will become stronger and stronger. Eventually, both sides will be unable to resist investing their maximum strength into it!" Xiang Jun said with a smile, "The Renduo family's infantry formation will have no choice but to commit troops to join in, and their formation will collapse on its own."

An Xuan looked at Xiang Jun and said, "At this moment, the Eagle Bandits appeared!"

"exactly!"

"General Xiang, after such a battle, I fear that more than a third of our troops will be killed or wounded!"

"But what we've annihilated is the enemy's main force!" Xiang Jun's expression turned solemn: "General An, the first battle is the decisive one. If we win this battle, there won't be many more bitter battles to come. Think about how you marched south from the north. The number of people who froze and starved to death along the way must have been more than this. For the sake of your children never having to fight again, all the sacrifices in this battle will be worthwhile!"

"So that the children will never have to fight again!" An Xuan murmured, picked up the huge spiked club that had been stuck beside his warhorse, raised it high, and roared fiercely, "For the children, fight! Fight!"

(End of this chapter)