All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 298: Surrender
The existence of the pontoon bridge limits the use of military formations to the greatest extent.

It can only stretch across the width of more than ten people at most, which means this battle is destined to rely on personal bravery.

The Wei Bo soldiers were really brave, they just charged forward with their shields raised.

Chen Ran was not going to give in. He first launched a rain of arrows, then had soldiers guard the bridge and confronted them head-on.

It is recorded in historical documents such as the New and Old Book of Tang and Zizhi Tongjian that the Tang army's military equipment level was very high.

Even for ordinary troops like county soldiers, the armor rate is usually over 60%, and more than half of them are wearing iron armor.

Elite troops like the Ya Soldiers and the Outer Ya Soldiers have an even higher armor rate. The Outer Ya Soldiers usually have 80% to 90% armor, while the Ya Soldiers can even have 100% armor, and almost all of them are iron armor of good quality.

The main reason is that the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to military force, and productivity, especially the metallurgical industry, was very developed.

By the end of the Tang Dynasty, when military men were in power and no one could control them, productivity shifted entirely to the military industry.

In many foreign wars during the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army was able to defeat the larger enemy with a smaller force. The important reason for this was that their equipment level was too high, far exceeding that of the surrounding hostile countries.

The same was true for the Wei Bo garrison soldiers at this time. Those who rushed up first were all wearing iron armor, and some even wore steel armor.

There are various types of iron armor including Mingguang, Guangyao, Xilin, Shanwen, Wuzhu, and chain mail.

The few who wore leather armor did not wear cowhide or sheepskin, but rhinoceros skin, which is unexpected to modern people.

The "xi" is naturally the rhino, and the "si" is an extinct giant-horned thunder beast, also known as the thunder rhino.

The thickness of rhino skin is usually more than 2.5 centimeters, and the thickest part can even reach 4 centimeters, and it is extremely tough.

I think it's similar for Lei Xi.

A very important reason why the thunder rhinoceros and rhinoceros in the north became extinct or even extinct is that they were hunted on a large scale for their skins to make armor.

Faced with the rain of arrows falling like raindrops, many Wei Bo soldiers were shot like hedgehogs, and some had dozens of arrows stuck in their armor and shields.

But they are still able to charge forward.

Such bravery is extremely rare in the army after the Tang Dynasty.

The soldiers on Chen Ran's side were not to be outdone and blocked the entrance to the pontoon bridge, fighting head-on.

Behind them were boxes of copper coins, mountains of silk and even rare gold and silver items.

As the saying goes, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward. Chen Ran never thought of arming these people with ideas. He was completely driven by profit.

"If you kill a soldier of the same rank, you will be rewarded with 10 strings of cash and 20 pieces of silk!"

"Those who kill the captain or above will be rewarded with gold and silver according to their duties!"

It is obvious that the guards of Weizhou Town are more elite and brave than those of Pinglu Army, so Chen Ran also increased the amount of rewards.

Excellent armor, high-quality weapons, strictly selected soldiers, and brave and death-ready morale.

When the conditions are the same on both sides, the battle will be very brutal.

From the pontoon bridge to the bridgehead, there was the most intense and brutal melee and hand-to-hand combat.

Roars and screams, the clashing of weapons, the trembling of armor, and the wails of the dying all merged together, playing the music of death on the banks of the Ji River.

Too many people fell into the Ji River. Under the drag of the heavy armor on their bodies, they would disappear after struggling for a few times.

The entire battlefield became a bloody grinder, killing countless lives on both sides.

Wang Yanzhang looked at the general thoughtfully, only to see the general sitting upright on his horse with a normal look on his face.

"Those who want to achieve great things can do things that ordinary people cannot endure. In such a brutal fight, if it were someone with a weaker will, he would probably have gone crazy."

Chen Ran is not a heartless person, he has simply experienced too much and has seen many such scenes before.

If you join the army, you should have expected this day to come.

Survive and prosper.

Died in battle, it was destined!

The battle was still going on, and as it grew darker, the Wei Bo soldiers gradually ended their offensive.

Both sides returned to their camps, cooked and filled their stomachs.

Chen Ran, who was eating meat with his guards, suddenly said, "The previous judgment was wrong. According to the way the Wei Bo soldiers fought today, tomorrow will be their last chance. If they fail to capture tomorrow, they will be discouraged."

Liu Xun, Wang Yanzhang and others all listened quietly and accepted Chen Ran's personal instruction.

For them, personally experiencing the battlefield is the best teaching, and when they are sent out to lead the troops in the future, they can be used immediately.

That night, the Wei Bo soldiers on the opposite side got some boats and tried to cross the river from far upstream and downstream to launch a surprise attack.

The result was naturally that they were driven back by the cavalry patrolling the river.

The local boatmen and fishermen were not stupid. Who would dare to join the battle between the armies? They either ran far away or hid their boats long ago. This was why the Wei Bo army had to rush to the floating bridge.

They had no choice.

Just as Chen Ran said, the next morning, they had a fierce battle with the Wei Bo soldiers on the opposite side.

They ate up the remaining food early in the morning and slaughtered a large number of cattle and horses to increase the food supply.

All the cities, wings, camps and teams were arranged in an orderly manner. After killing more than a dozen deserters who had escaped yesterday in front of the battle line, they stepped onto the pontoon bridge one after another to fight desperately.

The Wei Bo soldiers who fought with the determination to die were extremely powerful.

After a period of consumption, Wei Bo's soldiers dispatched hundreds of Mo Dao soldiers!
They finally rushed down the bridge and occupied an area on the other side.

The Wei Bo army came in droves like a tide, and the dawn of victory finally showed its edge to them.

In the Song and Ming dynasties, except for a few truly powerful armies, such as Yue Family Army and Qi Family Army, the rest of the troops had basically collapsed, especially the town that was good at turning around in front of the enemy, which was estimated to have run away hundreds of miles away. But the warriors of the Tang Dynasty did not collapse, they were still fighting to the death.

"It's time to decide the outcome."

Three quarters after noon is the time when Yang energy is the most abundant in the day.

Seeing that more and more Wei Bo soldiers were crossing the river, Chen Ran finally released his reserve troops.

There were more than a thousand Modao warriors, holding Modao that gleamed coldly in the sun, and marched towards the bridge head step by step with heavy steps.

Liu Xun, Wang Jingwu, Pang Shigu and others were all sent forward.

Although Wang Yanzhang was 1.8 meters tall, he was only a thirteen-year-old boy after all. Chen Ran did not let him go to the battlefield, but just kept him by his side to watch the battle.

The Modao teams on both sides were desperate and collided with each other head-on.

In the short and fierce battle, knives flashed, flesh and blood flew, and the wails before death merged into one.

Weapons like the Mo Dao cannot be used unless one has incredible arm strength.

Half the length of this thing is a blade, and it's very sharp.

One strike of the sword will cut you off even if you are wearing armor.

When protection is of no use, all that's left is courage to support the fight.

With one slash from both sides, the opponent was cut into two pieces. It was a pure death.

The scene was so bloody and shocking that it overshadowed the battles in other directions.

In the battle between the Mo Dao, the loss ratio was almost one to one.

The Modao team on Chen Ran's side was established not long ago, was insufficiently trained, and suffered more losses.

But there are so many of them.

They used their numerical advantage to wipe out all the opposing Modao soldiers.

The remaining hundreds of people moved forward with great momentum. They not only blocked the ferry bridge, but also strode onto the bridge and headed straight for the other side.

It was not until this point that the guards of Wei Bo Town completely collapsed.

"Okay."

Chen Ran breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Wang Yanzhang, "Pass the order and accept the surrender."

With no way out, the Wei Bo soldiers began to surrender on a large scale.

The fierce battle lasted only two days and one night, and more than ten thousand soldiers from Weizhou Town and the outer guard areas were killed, wounded, missing, fled, or even committed suicide.

After accepting the surrender, Chen Ran beheaded all the officers above the rank of team leader, including the captain, commander and other officers of all ranks.

During this process, naturally, some troublemakers in Wei Bo Town jumped out to cause trouble, and several hundred of them were killed for this.

After the final selection, eight thousand Wei Bo soldiers and guards surrendered to Chen Ran.

"Zihou!"

Standing on the bridge bank, Huang Chao looked at the traces of the tragic battlefield that had not yet been cleaned up, and then looked at the thousands of Wei Bo surrendered soldiers not far away. His expression was complicated, and his words were full of respect, "You fought very well."

"Not bad." Chen Ran smiled modestly. "Brother Huang, attracting the main force of the government army is also the key."

Huang Chao smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Don't mention it. My army of more than 100,000 was almost defeated by tens of thousands of Wei Bo soldiers. If it weren't for the city's defense, I'm afraid the whole army would have been wiped out long ago."

You can't let your entire army be wiped out. I'm counting on you to do the dirty work.

Chen Ran smiled again, "We have won, what are your plans next, General?"

Huang Chao hesitated for a moment, then said, "These vassal soldiers are too good at fighting. I plan to go south."

This was the route chosen by Huang Chao in history. It was also because he was badly beaten by the powerful vassals in the north that he had to choose to move south.

"it is good."

Chen Ran nodded and said, "In that case, I will go north."

Huang Chao admired Chen Ran's decisiveness and courage very much. The north was full of powerful vassal states where many tough men gathered.

The two are partners, not superiors and subordinates.

Although the imperial court always treated Chen Ran, who had a smaller force, as Huang Chao's subordinate, they were indeed just cooperating with each other in battle.

If they go south together, conflicts and competition are inevitable, and there will definitely be problems in resource allocation.

Choosing a direction separately not only distracts the court's attention, but also avoids competition with each other.

Facing Chen Ran who had actively chosen the difficult mode, Huang Chao was obviously feeling guilty. He naturally couldn't bring himself to ask for food and supplies.

In fact, as long as he took the initiative to ask, Chen Ran would give him something. After all, he was still hoping that Huang Chao would continue to make trouble and clean up the places.

The two men parted ways on the bank of the Ji River. Huang Chao recruited many auxiliary soldiers and civilians from Wei Bo Town, and with the local people taking the initiative to join the army, the previously lost manpower was quickly replenished.

In the late autumn of the second year of Qianfu, Huang Chao led an army of more than 100,000, claiming to have an army of 300,000, and marched south to Dujidao (Luoyang and its surrounding areas), shocking the whole world.

Everyone thought that Huang Chao was going to Guanzhong, and the court panicked and frantically dispatched troops to chase and intercept him everywhere.

Under the halo of Huang Chao, Chen Ran did stay in Qizhou to recuperate and train troops for the winter.

The local Pinglu Army was frightened by the defeat, and the new governor An Shiru did not dare to harass them at all.

Not only did they dare not come, but due to the lack of food and supplies, the Pinglu Army even launched a large-scale wave of surrendering to Chen Ran.

By the beginning of the following spring, when Chen Ran was preparing to lead his troops across the river into Bozhou, the number of men and women under his command had exceeded 50,000!
(End of this chapter)