"General Daeus, enemy attack from the northwest!!"
Upon receiving the message, Daeus scrambled off the belly of a camp follower, hastily pulled up his trousers, and rushed out of the barracks, roaring,
"Nonsense! How could the enemy bypass the mountains, trick our scouts, and raid us here!"
Even the officers from Jiaozhou were puzzled.
Daeus was right. Numerous sentries and Tianri scouts were positioned in all directions around this area. There should have been signs of movement.
But soon, everyone followed Daeus to a high vantage point and had to accept the reality.
"Defend immediately!"
As soon as Daeus gave the order, another urgent report arrived from the northeast.
"A white-robed unit from the Great Gan Kingdom is advancing towards Jiaozhou Camp. General, please organize a defense immediately!"
"How is this possible?!" Daeus turned pale with shock.
Two enemy forces were attacking from two different directions. What were the scouts and sentries along the way doing?
Two hundred paces northwest of Jiaozhou Camp, Shi Liuyun held a Tianri scout's severed head. He casually threw it towards the camp, his eyes gleaming.
This spyglass was truly useful. The Tianri scouts hadn't even had time to discover them before they were ambushed and killed.
The consequence of the Tianri scouts failing to report back was that the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry arrived here with the enemy still lax in their defenses!
"Charge, all troops!"
With Shi Liuyun's command, the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry charged towards Jiaozhou Camp.
They had used the intelligence from Ye Feng and others to understand the layout of Jiaozhou Camp.
Out of the twenty thousand defenders, half of the Jiaozhou soldiers were guarding the southern camp, while the other half were in the northern camp, feasting and drinking.
Ten thousand cavalry against ten thousand hastily defending Tianri infantry presented a significant advantage.
Even if they couldn't achieve a complete victory, they could retreat at their leisure!
Thousands of Jiangnan Iron Cavalry, each man eager to be at the forefront, charged towards Jiaozhou Camp, finally able to cast aside their restraints.
Jiaozhou Camp had a palisade, and an inner earthen wall, but their height and thickness were moderate. Inside were numerous granaries.
Facing the surprise charge of the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry, Daeus's troops panicked, and immediately set up defenses along the Jiaozhou Camp perimeter, but it was too late.
"Huh? The Great Gan army isn't attacking us?"
The Jiaozhou soldiers in the southern camp exchanged bewildered glances.
They had been in a state of disarray, but hadn't encountered any attack.
"General, should we go to the northern camp to provide support?" a group of soldiers tentatively asked.
The Jiaozhou officers turned back and retorted angrily, "Do you want to go to your deaths?"
The soldiers shrunk back, not daring to speak.
They just wanted to survive. Who their master was no longer mattered. If they couldn't fight, they would surrender.
After all, the Great Gan army treated Jiaozhou captives humanely. As long as they worked, they were fed. It was heard that sick captives even received care from army doctors!
The tragic deaths of five thousand Jiaozhou soldiers had significantly boosted the morale of the Tianri troops, but had dealt an unprecedented blow to the morale of the local Jiaozhou soldiers. This was why Hannibal was eager to defeat Liang Xiao.
This was a temporary measure. If nothing more was done, it would be like drinking poison to quench thirst and would surely lead to dire consequences!
Hannibal even mocked himself at one point, "If it were me, I should have observed the situation, and then repeatedly incited the Jiaozhou soldiers to disintegrate the coalition's morale, rather than rushing to their own demise when our army's morale was high!"
The Jiaozhou soldiers choosing to loaf around made things difficult for Daeus's ten thousand Tianri troops.
The Jiangnan Iron Cavalry's charge was fierce. In a blink of an eye, they reached the outer walls of Jiaozhou Camp. Five thousand men drew their repeating crossbows mounted on their horses and unleashed a volley.
Hundreds of heavily armored soldiers, despite their protection, were pierced through the gaps in their armor and eye sockets by the dense barrage of crossbow bolts, dying on the spot.
The Tianri soldiers retaliated with bows and crossbows against the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry. However, the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry, both man and horse, were equipped with improved padded armor. The soldiers also carried small shields to protect vital areas, making their casualties almost negligible.
The Jiangnan Iron Cavalry in the rear fired their Great Gan crossbows, focusing fire on the areas with the most enemy casualties to prevent them from reforming their defensive formations.
In the first engagement, the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry held a clear advantage, while the Tianri infantry was in disarray.
"Don't panic! If we defend the city, we can force them back!"
Daeus suppressed his fear and tried his best to boost morale.
Just then, the neighing of warhorses and thunderous roars of battle came from the northeast!
Shi Liuyun, on his horse, quickly observed the situation with his spyglass, a mixture of surprise and joy on his face. "So soon?"
It was Lu Changhe himself, leading the white-robed soldiers, who had circled around the east of the mountains under the cover of the Great Gan army and arrived here!
Seven thousand white-robed soldiers advanced like a broken bamboo. After an initial volley, they charged with spears, dispersing the already chaotic Tianri troops.
The two elite Great Gan cavalry units joined forces, finally launching a one-sided slaughter of the Tianri soldiers.
The Jiaozhou leaders had never imagined that the Great Gan cavalry could fearlessly penetrate their rear and attack their camp.
In the chaos, Daeus was split in two by a saber from Shi Liuyun.
In the end, not a single Tianri soldier was spared!
The Jiaozhou soldiers watching from afar trembled violently, their hands gripping their weapons.
As logistical soldiers, primarily composed of veterans and recruits, their combat effectiveness was already mediocre.
The cavalry opposite them were like wolves and tigers, utterly beyond the capabilities of their weak unit.
Huh? The enemy isn't continuing their attack, nor are they burning the provisions?
"Will surrender spare our lives?" Finally, a soldier gathered the courage to step forward and inquire.
"If you are willing to submit, you are citizens of the Great Gan. Of course, your lives will be spared!"
The messenger of the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry responded loudly.
The Jiaozhou soldiers, knowing they were no match, finally laid down their weapons and knelt to surrender.
"You will maintain your original organizational structure. If we are forced to retreat later, you will temporarily remain as Jiaozhou soldiers and continue to defend this place. If anyone from Jiaozhou comes and asks you to transport supplies, you will just transport them. Treat it as if our army never accepted your surrender, but you are forbidden from fighting us again! Understood?"
Shi Liuyun's instructions left the Jiaozhou soldiers looking at each other in confusion. "General, what do you mean by this?"
This was a request they had never heard before.
Asking them to continue serving their original masters and guard these provisions for Xiao Chang and the others seemed illogical, almost like a game?
Shi Liuyun smiled helplessly and patiently explained.
"First, these military provisions will all belong to the Great Gan in the future, and will also be used as your military rations. Burning them would be a waste. Second, we currently do not have enough horses to escort you back to the Great Gan. Third, if the Jiaozhou rebels discover your sincere submission, they may become enraged, and if you cannot escape, you might be massacred."
The Jiaozhou soldiers fell into a sudden silence.
A moment later, countless soldiers knelt and kowtowed, "Thank you, General, for your noble compassion!"
Lu Changhe and Shi Liuyun exchanged glances and could only offer wry smiles.
These Jiaozhou soldiers had mediocre combat effectiveness and no fighting spirit, posing no threat to them. They had to consider the lives of the enemy while ensuring the safety of their own soldiers.
Unless absolutely necessary, these provisions could not be burned for now. Otherwise, if they were to recruit hundreds of thousands of Jiaozhou soldiers later, they would need to supply them with their own military rations, leading to a severe shortage of supplies on the front lines.
Their current objective was simply to follow orders and raid this place to disrupt the Jiaozhou coalition forces trapped in the mountains.
As for the food, according to Liang Xiao's words, it all belonged to the Great Gan army.
The two Great Gan cavalry units attacked, held their ground, dispatched patrols, and observed the situation.
Meanwhile, Liang Xiao, on the battlefield to the east of the mountains, also discovered the arrival of enemy light cavalry and immediately gave an order.
"Great Gan's Elite Cavalry, sally forth from both flanks!"