Chapter 787

“Have the soldiers withdraw, and send in two fresh regiments!”

Facing the barbarian slave soldiers who were frantically pouring into the trenches, Lu Fei hastily gave the order.

The barbarians were trying to wear them down with sheer numbers. The soldiers who had just charged were two regiments strong, and after a fierce battle, these regiments were already exhausted. They would be at a great disadvantage against this fresh batch of energetic slave soldiers.

Upon receiving the order, the bugler immediately sounded the retreat horn. The two regiments in the trenches immediately withdrew. As they withdrew, they also carried back their wounded soldiers, immediately sending them to the medical officers in the camp, who would be responsible for treating their wounds.

The barbarian slave soldiers chased closely behind the two regiments, quickly reaching the front of the trenches. At this point, Lu Fei immediately ordered the musketeers to fire.

Some barbarian slave soldiers standing on the trenches immediately fell. Seeing this, these slave soldiers immediately ducked into the trenches and no longer showed their heads.

At this point, the two fresh regiments seized the opportunity to jump into the trenches, continuing their fierce battle with the barbarian slave soldiers.

The entire battlefield was filled with the roar of cannons, the crackle of firearms, and the sounds of fierce combat.

From the ascending hot air balloons, flag signalmen continuously relayed the combat situation to Lu Fei and the others in the camp, and then relayed Lu Fei’s and the others’ orders to the battlefield.

Because of this flexible communication method, the Great Yu Empire soldiers’ operations were very agile. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner, without any of the chaos seen when barbarian soldiers charged out of the city and lost command.

“This Pingzhou City truly seems destined to become a meat grinder. How long will this attrition last before the city falls?” Lei Ming said.

Luo Xin was very calm. He said, “What’s your hurry? We are here to provide cover for Qi Guangyi and Ye Qingyun. As long as we can capture Liaozhou city and cut off communication between the barbarians and Goryeo, it will be like severing another one of the barbarians’ arms.”

“Exactly. Qi Guangyi is responsible for disrupting the barbarians’ spring plowing, and Ye Qingyun has cut off the barbarians’ access to grain from Goryeo. This winter, we’ll see how these barbarians fare,” Lu Fei laughed heartily.

…

Juehua Island.

Upon learning that the main army had advanced to Pingzhou City, Qi Guangyi decided to land near Jinzhou according to the predetermined plan.

His orders this time were simple: to cause destruction behind the barbarian lines and to plunder the population. This was the same objective as the barbarian invasion of the Great Yu Empire.

Unlike previous wars, they would focus more on plundering wealth.

“Everyone, board the ships!”

Qi Guangyi shouted to the soldiers on the island.

Under his command, soldiers, leading their horses, boarded the massive naval warships one by one. During this war, these warships would be responsible for transporting soldiers.

However, even so, transporting all three was an arduous task. For this, the Chamber of Commerce also provided many large merchant ships to assist.

Juehua Island was extremely close to Jinzhou, with a direct distance of only one hundred and forty li. They could reach it in just over half a day by ship.

To save time, they decided to depart in the evening, so they could arrive near Jinzhou by early morning the next day.

The secret guards had already found a hidden and convenient landing spot for them, where they would establish a temporary camp.

The next morning.

A vast fleet of ships appeared on a beach sixty

li east of Jinzhou City.

The barbarian land was vast and sparsely populated, and the settled population, like in the Great Yu Empire, was concentrated around cities. Such remote beaches were rarely visited.

The first batch of 8,000 cavalry spent three days building a camp near the beach. On the fourth day, 3,000 musketeers arrived with the last batch of cavalry; they would be responsible for guarding the camp.

With all preparations complete, Qi Guangyi led his cavalry towards Jinzhou City.

At the same time, Ye Qingyun, leading 40,000 musketeers and 6,000 cavalry, was advancing into Liaozhou.

Having stayed in Goryeo for nearly a year, Ye Qingyun was now very familiar with the cities of Goryeo and the barbarians.

So, upon receiving the order to attack Liaozhou, he greatly admired their Emperor, because Liaozhou was precisely the gateway through which the barbarians controlled Goryeo.

If Liaozhou were captured, the barbarians would have to travel long distances without supplies if they wished to attack Goryeo.

And fortunately, this Liaozhou was not very far from Bisa Castle; it could be reached in just three days.

If Liaozhou City were captured, the Goryeo “iron triangle” would be formed, and their control over Goryeo would become even easier.

Three days later, guided by a Goryeo guide, they arrived outside Liaozhou City.

Facing the unfamiliar environment and unknown city, Ye Qingyun showed no nervousness. He quickly dispatched hunter cavalry to reconnoiter the surrounding situation.

At the same time, the Goryeo merchants he had bribed conveyed the internal situation of Liaozhou.

“Originally, there were quite a few cavalry in Liaozhou City, but it is said that Great Yu Empire cavalry attacked outside Jinzhou, so the cavalry in the city rushed to encircle and suppress them. Now, there are only twenty thousand regular barbarian infantry and forty thousand barbarian slave soldiers in the city,” the Goryeo merchant said.

Ye Qingyun nodded. He said, “Well done. I will tell Chairman Li about this and get you some business.”

“Thank you, General, thank you, General.”

The Goryeo merchant said excitedly. Now, all Goryeo merchants who traded with the Great Yu Empire had made a fortune, and he had hoped for this day and night. Now it had finally come true.

After waiting for a while, the hunter cavalry who went out to reconnoiter reported that no ambush had been found. At this point, Ye Qingyun finally felt at ease.

Judging from the barbarians’ actions this time, they had also reinforced Liaozhou, but clearly, they were still not paying enough attention.

A faint smile appeared on Ye Qingyun’s lips. He ordered, “The 1st Division will be responsible for the East Gate, the 2nd Division for the South Gate, the 3rd Division for the North Gate, and the 4th Division for the West Gate. I want to eat roasted lamb inside Liaozhou City before sunset.”

“Yes, Army Commander!”

The four division commanders responded simultaneously. They then commanded their subordinate generals to immediately surround Liaozhou City.

Upon reaching their respective positions, they ordered the attack.

Because of the military reform, each division was an independent combat unit, fully equipped with musketeers, artillery, and cavalry.

After the siege began, the rumble of cannons echoed at every city gate.

The barbarian soldiers inside Liaozhou City had already discovered this suddenly appearing Great Yu Empire army. Before the siege, they had already sent out scouts to request reinforcements.

Now, they only hoped that reinforcements would arrive quickly.

However, the speed at which the Great Yu Empire army breached the city gate exceeded their expectations.

After the city gates were breached by artillery, musketeers immediately poured into Liaozhou City simultaneously from all four city gates. For a time, cries of “kill” shook the heavens.

Ye Qingyun showed a satisfied smile. He was not at all worried about the 60,000 barbarian infantry armed with swords; such an army, no matter how brave, could not withstand the attack of firearms.