Start to be a martial arts hero from the famous people of Hengshan

Chapter 461: Encounter at Shaziba
In October of the eleventh year of Zhengde, the autumn wind was bleak, and Mansuer, who had gathered his troops, once again came to Jiayuguan.

Man Suer is no stranger to this border key.

Twelve years ago, he sent troops here with the intention of conquering it, but encountered stubborn resistance from the Suzhou governor and had to retreat in despair.

Today, the situation is different.

His rear is as solid as a mountain, his troops are well-equipped and his armor is bright. It is a perfect opportunity to take revenge and make new plans.

Mansuer's heart was burning with the belief that he would win, and he vowed to capture the indestructible fortress of Jiayuguan during this expedition.

This time, he is determined to win!
In light of the lesson of the narrow defeat twelve years ago, Man Suer dared to shout out loudly: No one understands the solidity of Jiayuguan’s defense better than me!
He knew very well that if he just attacked with force, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg and would achieve little.

After careful planning, he decided to adopt a two-pronged attack strategy aimed at confusing and disrupting the Ming army's deployment.

First, Mansuer personally led half of the elite troops to attack Jiayuguan with great fanfare, creating the illusion that the main force of Mongolia was gathered there, in order to attract and divert the attention of the Jiayuguan defenders.

This move not only effectively consumed the Ming army's defensive resources, but also put tremendous psychological pressure on the other side, making them mistakenly believe that the Turpan army would attack this pass with all their strength.

Another surprise force, led by Huozhe Tazhiding, quietly bypassed the front battlefield of Jiayuguan, crossed the desolate Shaziba, and went straight to the key rear point of Jiayuguan - Lizhouwei.

Such a surprise action was intended to cut off the reinforcements and retreat routes of the Jiayuguan defenders, forming a pincer attack from both sides, completely disrupting the strategic deployment of the Ming army, and achieving its strategic goal of capturing the pass in one fell swoop.

There is no doubt that Mansur is a smart man and possesses the vision of an excellent commander.

As an important town on the northwest border of the Ming Dynasty, Jiayuguan has a crucial strategic position.

If Jiayuguan is not protected, Suzhou will be lost, the door to the Central Plains will be opened, and the initiative will be in Mansuer's hands.

Following Mansuer's actions, various spies hidden in Suzhou also began to take action, just to cooperate with Mansuer and tie down the power of the soldiers in the city.

However, Chen Jiuchou, Mansu's old rival, had already anticipated these tactics, so after receiving the information from Wang Yangming, he asked the commander of the Weilu Guard, Wang Tai, to lead his troops into Suzhou City to assist the constables in managing the city.

Just as Chen Jiuchou was thinking about how to deal with the enemy outside Jiayu Pass, Wang Tai led a group of people in and reported: "Your Excellency, the commander of Weiyuan Guard, Si Yuan, has been ordered to come to support!"

Chen Jiuchou was stunned after hearing this, and subconsciously asked: "Whose orders?"

"It's the order of Lord Wang, the Governor of Gansu!" Si Yuan replied with a bow.

"What does Lord Wang mean?"

Chen Jiuchou stood up and said seriously, "Turpan is now in full force, and two of the four Suzhou guards have been transferred to Suzhou City. The remaining ones are Suzhou Guard and Ganzhou Right Guard. The Ganzhou Right Guard has the responsibility of guarding Prince Su. Does Lord Wang want Suzhou Guard to support Jiayuguan?"

Si Yuan and Wang Tai both shook their heads. They didn't know about Wang Yangming's arrangements.

"No, I have to write a letter to explain the situation here to Lord Wang. The Suzhou Guards alone cannot defend Jiayu Pass." Chen Jiuchou thought about it and felt that this would not work, so he returned to his desk and started writing.

At the same time, An Guo, the commander of Suzhou Guard, also received an order from Wang Yangming, asking them to go to Shaziba immediately without any mistake.

An Guo looked up at the messenger, hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master Wang, do you want to defend?"

An Guo had been to Shaziba when he was on patrol. It was a canyon that could be defended by stationing an army of a thousand men.

The messenger looked up and it was Xiang Danian.

He looked at everyone in the big tent, just smiled and said nothing.

Seeing this, An Guo happily invited Xiang Danian to have lunch, creating an opportunity for him to be alone.

Xiang Danian knew that An Guo was recommended by Ou Zanghua, and Wang Yangming did not emphasize the need to keep it secret, so he told An Guo about the reinforcements.

"What?! There are 10,000 reinforcements?!" Upon hearing this, a trace of disbelief and astonishment flashed across An Guo's face, and then, ecstasy surged into his heart like a tide, making his expression extremely excited.

"In that case, Lord Wang will definitely not just want to defend." An Guo bowed to Xiang Danian and asked, "May I ask Brother Xiang, does Lord Wang have any other orders?"

"When Lord Wang comes in person, Commander An can ask again." Xiang Danian said with a smile. "Okay!"

After lunch, the army set out for Shaziba, arrived at the destination before sunset, and then set up camp.

At dawn the next day, Ye Bushou returned in a hurry after being out for less than two hours, bringing a piece of news that made An Guo feel helpless and wanted to laugh.

It turned out that at the entrance on the other side of Shaziba, the Turpan army had already set up camp and garrisoned, and when they arrived, the Turpan army was busy reorganizing its formation, as if it was about to advance into the canyon.

An Guo looked at the towering mountains on both sides of the canyon, and immediately dispatched a group of artillery to climb up the high ground to take advantage of the terrain.
The other group was on high alert, deploying defenses in the spacious area of ​​the canyon, waiting for the enemy to fall into their trap.

The Fire Master didn't let An Guo wait too long, and two thousand elite soldiers slowly appeared in their sight.

"Fire!" An Guo roared, and ten Shenwei cannons simultaneously emitted earth-shaking sounds, cutting through the sky, crossing a distance of three miles, and accurately bombarding the rear positions of the Turpan army.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Several deafening explosions sounded one after another, accompanied by smoke rising up, and the rear position of the Turpan army was instantly thrown into chaos.

Huozhe Ding never expected to meet the Ming army here, let alone that the enemy even brought artillery and fired at their rear. In this way, all his plans became useless.

This was not the end. Xiang Danian led a team of men and horses with ten submachine guns and finally climbed to the top of the mountain. Looking at the enemy below, he decisively said, "Adjust the muzzle of the gun, aim at the enemy, and fire three times in a row!"

"Yes!" the artillerymen responded and took action immediately.

With a few loud "bangs", shells carrying sharp iron pieces fell from the sky like meteors and slammed into the Turpan army's formation.

For a moment, there was wailing in the Turpan army. Huozhe knew that if he did not take any action, he would surely lose the battle.

So he drew his long sword, pointed it forward, and shouted with all his strength: "The enemy is in front of us, brothers, follow me and charge!"

Before he finished speaking, he kicked the majestic warhorse under his crotch and rushed forward like an arrow.

An Guo narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice: "Cluster guns, prepare the shrapnel shells, fire!"

With a loud "bang", five submachine guns fired at the same time. The shrapnel shells were like a peacock spreading its tail, directly covering a large area in front.

The Fire Master only heard a dull sound of a hard object piercing through flesh and blood, and then his horse let out a sharp neigh in despair and pain, struggled weakly with its limbs for a few times, and finally fell to the ground with a bang, throwing him heavily on the dusty battlefield.

"Send a flag signal to ask the higher-ups to stop the shelling." An Guo looked at the battlefield and continued giving orders.

Upon hearing this, a flag soldier immediately displayed a red pennant upwards.

After seeing the response from above, the flag soldier reported it to An Guo.

An Guo no longer hesitated, took the crescent-shaped sword from the shoulder of the guard, and shouted: "Follow me and kill!"

"Kill!" The Ming cavalry roared, followed An Guo's pace, and rushed towards the Turpan army that was already in chaos.

Huozhe Zhiding stood up with the help of his personal guards. He looked up suddenly and saw An Guo coming like a god of war, with man and horse as one, charging towards him with unstoppable force.

He held the hilt of the knife in one hand, and the blade reflected the sunlight, making it even sharper, like a bolt of lightning cutting through the battlefield.

With an excited neigh from the warhorse, An Guo swung his sword and slashed with a speed and strength that almost exceeded the limits of human beings.

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze and time slowed down. The Fire Man only felt a breath of death coming towards him, which made him feel despair.

Upon seeing this, the guards cried out in shock and wanted to step forward to stop it, but it was too late.

An Guo's crescent-shaped sword drew a perfect arc in the air, and with irresistible momentum, it took off the head of the Fire Master Ta Zhiding.

The fireman only felt his vision spinning wildly, and the last thing he saw was a familiar headless corpse. The voice in his ear became farther and farther away: "Surrender and you won't be killed! Surrender and you won't be killed!"

(End of this chapter)