Chapter 641

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“Kill!”

The central army soldiers shouted in unison, their roars echoing through the night.

Luo Xin completed the deployment of the field guns in the distance. At this moment, with his command, the cannons roared, and shells flew towards the allied forces’ grand camp.

At this time, the allied forces’ grand camp was lit by torches everywhere. The Liang army was heading towards Liang Capital, and the movements within the grand camp could be clearly seen even from a distance.

Coupled with the chaos caused by the allied forces’ retreat, the sentries of the grand camp did not notice the continuously approaching Yunzhou City army.

The sound of cannons rang out, and the soldiers in the grand camp became even more panicked. Xiao Sa commanded the Liang army to speed up their withdrawal from the grand camp.

Cui Huai was also stunned by the cannon fire and roars. He immediately shouted, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

“General, the Liang army has withdrawn, and Zhao Ang’s cavalry are also preparing to withdraw. Only our Yan army is left, and we cannot defeat the Qi army. General, it’s still not too late to retreat now.”

“Alas!” Cui Huai knew the tide had turned. He sighed in despair, “Heaven intends to destroy our Yan Kingdom! Retreat!”

A group of generals, having received the order, immediately shouted and gathered their soldiers to retreat towards Kaizhou City.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

The brightly lit allied forces’ grand camp was fully visible to the artillerymen. Luo Xin had prepared all the cannonballs and gunpowder this time.

Not only were field guns roaring, but mortars also hurled lime bombs and explosive shells into the allied forces’ grand camp, instantly turning the allied forces’ grand camp into a sea of fire.

At the same time, Niu Ben’s central army continuously pressed towards the grand camp, while the left and right armies also began to array on both sides, constantly compressing the space of the allied forces of the three princes.

The battle first broke out on the right wing. The retreating Liang army encountered the waiting right wing. The right wing, arranged in columns, did not use the traditional three-rank firing but instead used the more ferocious hedgehog formation.

The first rank of soldiers was responsible for firing, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth ranks were responsible for loading. When the first rank of soldiers fired, the soldiers in the second rank handed their loaded flintlock guns to the soldiers in the first rank.

At the same time, the soldiers of the second rank handed over the fired weapons to the third rank, and then took another loaded flintlock gun.

Facing the densely retreating Liang soldiers, the continuous barrage of firepower instantly inflicted heavy casualties on the Liang army.

Having suffered a bloody defeat, the Liang army soldiers, led by their generals, retreated along the northwest direction. In this gap, the Yunzhou army had not yet completed its encirclement.

Ye Qingyun calmly assessed the battlefield situation. The Liang army, desperate to retreat, had no intention of fighting. They only wanted to break out of the encirclement as quickly as possible.

And their plan did not involve annihilating the Liang army here. Their forces were limited, and engaging 300,000 allied troops would result in extremely heavy casualties.

Therefore, from the beginning, they had planned to let the Liang army go, concentrating their forces on annihilating the Yan and Zhao armies. Their attack on the Liang army now was merely to weaken Liang’s strength.

After the Liang army soldiers withdrew from firing range, Ye Qingyun led his soldiers, herding the scattered Liang army out of the encirclement like ducks.

At the same time, chariots carrying soldiers headed towards Bai Mu’s position, completely sealing off the allied forces’ grand camp.

Then, he led the remaining soldiers to constantly move closer to the grand camp. At this moment, fireworks had already bloomed in the sky, a signal for attack.

In the grand camp, Zhao Ang hurriedly assembled his cavalry, but due to the extreme chaos in the camp, many soldiers could not find their generals, and generals could not find their soldiers.

The gunshots grew closer and closer, and Zhao Ang became increasingly anxious. If this continued, none of them would be able to escape. He led the 20,000 assembled men and began to retreat towards Kaizhou.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

With the encirclement complete, the left, right, and central armies simultaneously pressed towards the allied forces’ grand camp. Along the way, soldiers continuously stopped to fire as they moved.

Amidst screams of agony, Yan army soldiers fell one after another.

Cui Huai’s emotions had now turned from despair to hysteria. In the continuous siege of the city, the Yan army had lost over 60,000 men. Now, only over 100,000 Yan troops remained. With the Liang and Zhao armies both retreating, the remaining Yan army had also lost its numerical advantage.

Yet, like a cornered beast, facing desperate odds, Cui Huai’s ferocity surged. He led the elite Black Feather Guards of Yan, not retreating towards Kaizhou, but instead charging directly from the left flank, hoping to cut through.

Kaizhou City, to him, was once an imperial city. Although conquered by Yan, the powerful families in the city had not yet submitted. If he were to return in disarray, he would likely be attacked from both inside and out.

And the left flank was a shortcut to Yan. As long as he could break through there, he could escape back.

“Kill! The first to break through the encirclement will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver and made a Marquis of 10,000 households!” Fearing the soldiers might rout, Cui Huai shouted out an even more insane reward.

Under heavy reward, brave men would surely emerge. At this, the Black Feather Guard soldiers shouted and charged forward madly.