Chapter 250

After the rest, the large army set out again. Although they rested for half an hour, it was still freezing cold and most of the people were just ordinary people who had never practiced martial arts. Their resistance and physical strength could not keep up, so their speed naturally slowed down.

　　The army marched for about an hour, about ten miles, and the scouts under his command ran to report to Pang Jun: "Report to the lord, a large number of fast-moving torches were found in the rear, and it is suspected that the Japanese cavalry has caught up."

　　Pang Jun looked far away and saw that, sure enough, a little light suddenly appeared in the dark sky. One, two, more and more, and finally the sky was illuminated as bright as day. These light spots moved at high speed. According to conservative estimates, they would catch up with the main force here within two cups of tea. So he made a prompt decision and loudly ordered the troops: "All soldiers, listen to my order, form a battle array on the spot and prepare for battle! The rest of you, escort the civilians to evacuate first!"

　　Although they were semi-forced to migrate by Pang Jun, the Japanese generally would not do anything to them, but at this time of chaos and disorder, who knows whether the two sides, who are so angry that they want to kill each other, will think that they are civilians and not kill them, and use them to make military merits? The best way is to run away first, so no matter how tired the people are at this time, they must cheer up and speed up.

　　A shrill horn sounded, and the Liaodong army was gathering. Thousands of troops, including elite heavy infantry, ordinary infantry, and ace armored heavy cavalry, gathered in various positions in the center, right wing, and left wing. They seemed ready to fight the Japanese. Around the end of the hour of guarding, their troops had arrived at the designated charge position and stopped less than two hundred feet away from the Japanese army.

　　The Liaodong army was still making final preparations, and the Japanese army had not moved either. The two armies tacitly maintained a distance of two hundred feet and faced each other from a distance.

　　Tachibana Munerin rode forward and saw a young man riding out from the Liaodong Army's position. He shouted, "Are you Liu Jun from Jin?"

　　The young man shook his head and said, "You are not Xiyuanji Maesa, so you are not qualified to see our master. I am Qi Lin, the deputy commander of the cavalry under the Liaodong Army!"

　　"Humph, Liu Jun, you little coward, what's wrong with hiding in the formation? Everyone listen up, prepare to charge, whoever captures and kills Liu Jun will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!" Then in the Japanese army formation, the messenger ran all the way from the front formation to the back, shouting all the way: "Prepare to charge, whoever captures and kills Liu Jun will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"

　　The north wind howled, the forest roared, and the powdery snow was blown up by the north wind, raising a hazy dust cloud.

　　The soldiers of Liaodong held their weapons tightly, breathing rapidly, and their faces looked serious and cold, because they knew how heavy and terrible the task before them was.

　　Pang Jun issued an order: "Even if we fight to the last man, the heavy cavalry must break through the enemy formation and find a gap for the infantry to attack!"

　　The first drumbeat was heard from the horizon, and then war drums sounded one after another, ten, a hundred, a thousand, and the drumbeats were deafening along the entire battle line.

　　"attack!"

　　"Charge! Kill!" Millions of chests uttered one voice at the same time, rumbling like thunder in the sky, startling the war horses so much that they neighed in unison.

　　The heavily armored cavalry of the Liaodong Army all lowered their spears and began to march forward slowly, like a huge rock rolling down the mountain. Their speed became faster and faster, from a slow walk to a run, and then to a gallop, and then they moved forward at a terrifying speed with astonishing momentum, like an unstoppable mountain torrent or tsunami!

　　"Cavalry, prepare to fight! Tie up the Jin people!" Since the day of the Battle of Yanzhou City, the Japanese Army and the Liaodong Army's heavy cavalry corps encountered each other again!

　　The two armies collided in chaos, and the heavy cavalry was like an unstoppable storm. Wherever they passed, Japanese soldiers and horses were killed as numerous as paving stones, and every moment there were soldiers and horses being knocked over and trampled into meat paste.

　　The heavy cavalry broke through the Japanese army's defensive lineup with great force, but it was still too early to defeat the Japanese army's frontal defense. The Liaodong heavy cavalry was an elite division, but the Japanese cavalry that faced them were the powerful warriors of Japan's ace army, the Kaishin Cavalry Corps. Since the last battle with the heavy cavalry in Yanzhou City, the Japanese began to study how to deal with the Liaodong heavy cavalry, and the Kaishin Cavalry Corps in front of them was the result of their research.

　　If the conditions are right, according to the research of the Japanese military, the 5,000 cavalry in front of them are more than enough to deal with 1,000 Liaodong heavy cavalry. They can use flexible tactics and a small cost to wear out the bulky heavy cavalry. But now they are facing not only 1,000 Liaodong heavy cavalry, but also thousands of Liaodong infantry supporting them from behind, as well as restricted terrain that is not suitable for tactical implementation. This adds huge variables to the outcome of this confrontation. However, the order that Saionji Maehisa gave to Tachibana Sorin was to entangle the Liaodong army and wait for the large force to arrive. There was no need to annihilate the enemy completely, so his maneuverability increased a lot.

　　There were waving swords everywhere, steel colliding fiercely, the sounds of slashing, screams and wails, the cries of death in the fight, the creeping screams of the wounded, the roar of war horses, the clanging of swords chopping off armor all mixed together, tens of thousands of people were fighting desperately in the not very spacious mountains and hills, and the terrible roar was like millions of wronged souls in the Asura Hell screaming in unison.

　　The battle line between the two armies was in chaos, with iron horses running back and forth, corpses and wounded soldiers lying on the ground, and the terrible spearing and sword hacking were as dense as a storm, and the knife hacking, axe hacking, and flying arrows never stopped. Every minute and every second, a large number of soldiers from both armies fell in this killing field, and brave knights fell one after another. The war horses that had lost their riders ran out in the dust, their eyes were bloodshot and their sideburns were messy.

　　"Husband," At this time, Lyudmila walked to Pang Jun who was watching the battle from the high ground of the central army, and asked in a low voice, "We can obviously abandon those Koreans and lead the troops to march back to Guijin. As for those people, we can save as many as we can. Why do you want to do this and drag us here? The enemy cavalry is very cunning. If we are entangled by them, when the large Japanese army arrives behind us, it will be more difficult for us to escape even if we have the support of Guijin."

　　Looking at the puzzled female general in front of him, Pang Jun whispered, "Liu Xia, what you saw was the outcome of this battle and the price I had to pay for it, but what I planned was the change in the situation in Liaodong. If my risk and sacrifice this time can reverse the offensive and defensive situation of Liaodong and even the forces of Chao, do you think it is worth it?"

　　"The offensive and defensive situation of the entire Liaodong and Chao Kingdom?" Lyudmila was worthy of being a female grand duchess. After Pang Jun said this, she only thought about it for a moment and figured out the key. "You mean the Western Route Army of Dongying Kingdom..."

　　"That's right," Pang Jun said, "If the entire Japanese Western Army suffered a crushing defeat or even annihilated here, can their Eastern Army, which is wreaking havoc in the Korean Kingdom, still attack cities and capture territories with peace of mind?"

　　While Pang Jun's troops were fighting with Tachibana Sorin's cavalry at Chihu Ridge, a group of people were sneaking in the opposite direction. They were none other than Pang Jun's secret agents named "Suifeng". They quietly sneaked in from the west of the city and behind the main Japanese army.

　　They divided into dozens of groups and reached the key locations arranged in advance under the cover of night. Like dandelions spreading seeds, they hid throughout the city.

　　At this time, the Japanese army had just entered the city to rest and did not notice that a small group of "Sui Feng" spies were lurking behind them.

　　As the agreed time arrived, the "Follow the Wind" spies acted quickly, lit the tinder, and threw the torches onto the pile of firewood that had been doused with kerosene in advance, or into the wooden house.

　　In the eastern part of the city, the Liaodong Army had already prepared a large amount of fuel and flammable materials in the homes of the people who had migrated first, so it was very easy to set fire. They lit fires at the same time, and fires started in the streets, alleys, houses, shops, and inns. The fire spread unscrupulously, and the raging flames engulfed one block after another. Countless pillars of fire shot up into the sky.

　　The burning space was getting wider and wider, and the flames, carried by the howling north wind, swept through the city like a storm, spreading through the city like a flood, submerging houses and streets. The burning houses collapsed one after another, with constant rumbling sounds.

　　At this time, the Japanese people who originally thought that someone was going to take advantage of the chaos to smash and loot were shocked to find that the fire was not just one or two houses, one or two streets, but the entire Minggu City! They began to panic: "Oh no! The surrounding area is on fire!"

　　"Someone is deliberately setting fire! Run!" Thousands of Japanese soldiers rushed out. They wanted to leave the city from the east and south gates, but it was too late. The raging fire blocked the streets from the east district. The crackling and roaring sound of the flames was deafening. The sea of ​​fire sent out huge fountains straight into the sky. From the other side of the smoke and the sea of ​​fire, terrifying heat came. The smoke had not arrived yet, and there was thick smoke everywhere, as if a sea of ​​clouds was tightly covering Minggu City. The entire Minggu City disappeared in the thick smoke.

　　In this sea of ​​smoke, the Japanese soldiers who were unfamiliar with the environment could not find a way out. In terror, panic and embarrassment, the Japanese soldiers panicked, some cried loudly, some shouted hysterically, and miserable cries for help were heard from far and near: "Help! Brothers, we are surrounded by fire!"

　　"Brothers, who will save us!" Everyone was trying to escape in a panic, so no one had time to pay attention to them.

　　When the fire broke out, the commander of the Japanese army, Saionji Zenhisa, was having a meal in a house. When he heard the miserable cries coming from outside and saw the flames shooting up into the sky, he realized that the fire had become so big that it could not be extinguished, and he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen.

　　At this time, the subordinate reported: "Report to Lord Saionji, Minggu Castle suddenly caught fire!"

　　He loudly demanded, "Why did the fire start so suddenly? Wasn't there anyone to put it out?"

　　"Sir, this fire is very strange. Even water can't put it out. I guess someone prepared wood and grease. The fire is very fierce!"

　　Saionji Maehisa finally understood and said angrily: "A trap, this must be Liu Jun's trap! He wants to burn my army! He also wants to eat up Tachibana Sorin's cavalry!"

　　Just as he finished speaking, another scout came to report: "Report to Lord Xiyuanji, the fire has completely spread to the south of the city, the south gate has been sealed, and thousands of Liaodong soldiers suddenly appeared at the west gate. Our people can't get out!"

　　The generals said in panic, "Lord Saionji, all the troops are busy retreating, let's retreat quickly, otherwise we will be surrounded by fire and it will be terrible!"

　　"No!" Saizonoji said resolutely: "Our army will attack the east gate!"

　　"My Lord, are you crazy? The fire is coming!"

　　"Everyone, think about it! Now tens of thousands of soldiers are fleeing the city, we can't squeeze out! Going out from the north gate, there are mountains and forests all the way, there is no guarantee that Liu Jun will set another fire there," Saiyuanji Maehisa said with wide eyes, "The people of the Central Plains have a saying that they will survive only if they are put to death. Our only way out is to defeat the current Liaodong army and rush to their side! Join up with Tachibana-kun's cavalry. They can't set fire to their own positions, right?"

　　The generals finally understood: "Your Excellency is wise!"

　　The order was quickly passed down, and the Japanese soldiers were told: "If we can't break through the Liaodong Army's defense line, we will all be burned to charcoal!"

　　Life and death were at stake. The tired and hungry Japanese soldiers regained their spirits and fighting spirit. The madness of survival consumed them. What drove them behind them was not military orders, but a raging fire, which was more effective than any agitation!

　　Looking at the Japanese who were advancing forward, the leader of the interception force, Hong Yanzhang, shouted: "For Liaodong! Brothers, hold on!"

　　"Hold on! Hold on!" With the deafening shouts of killing, the two torrents fiercely collided with each other...