Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 304: A million heads chopped off, corpses piled up for nine hundred miles!

Boom boom boom!
With Zhao Mu's command, the thunderous war drums sounded, and the Han army moved!
With only five hundred personal guards protecting Zhao Mu, all thirteen thousand five hundred cavalry charged out. The shouts of the Han soldiers, along with the thunderous neighing of their warhorses, resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

"Charge! Kill!"

"Kill all the Annamese monkeys!"

"The decisive battle for Annam begins today!"

……

Their voices were like a storm rising from a deep valley, or thunderbolts crashing down from the sky. Their gleaming longswords and nine-foot-seven-inch lances shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

What greeted them was a short and feeble volley of arrows from the Annamese.

Unfortunately, the Annamite army's crossbows were inferior to those of the Chinese, and the rainy season further hampered their effectiveness. Furthermore, of the 30,000 Annamite troops, only 5,000 were regular soldiers, and they hadn't even completed their formation. How could they possibly unleash a threatening barrage of arrows against the Han army?
Their hasty formation failed to even stop the first wave of Han army attacks.

In less than fifteen minutes, the Annamese army's ranks were breached, as if their flesh had been torn apart by wild beasts.

These gaps continued to widen, even breaking apart, as the Han cavalry surged in from behind. Swords, spears, and maces drank deeply of the Annamese's blood.

Chen Guojun truly lived up to his reputation as a hero of Annam. Even at this point, he continued to shout orders to the officers in his ranks, adjusting the defensive formation. He even led his personal guards in a counter-attack, attempting to turn the tide.

But all of this was in vain. On the entire battlefield, the morale of the Annamese army visibly declined, and even collapsed.

"Run away!"

"We've fallen for their trap! It's a snare!"

"Get out of here! Staying here means certain death!"

"Escape back to the south bank!"

……

The first to succumb were the peasant auxiliary soldiers conscripted by Annam. For nearly four months, they hadn't even had enough to eat, let alone train, and their military skills and morale were extremely low. They had only been held together by the promise of a "counter-offensive during the rainy season to maintain Annam's independence."

Now, it is obvious that the Annamese army has fallen into a trap. How could they possibly hold out against the Han army's iron cavalry in open field battles?
They frantically dropped their weapons and fled in all directions, crying and shouting.

The collapse of these peasant auxiliary troops led to the collapse of the barbarian troops, and then to the regular army of Annam.

Before an hour had even begun, the tide of battle was already irreversible, and the Annamese army was utterly defeated.

"Charge! Everyone, follow me and charge out! Only by charging out can we survive!"

At the start of the battle, although Tran Quoc Tuan realized that defeat was inevitable, he still tried his best to maintain the Annamese army's formation. In his view, even if defeat was inevitable, he wanted to splatter the Han army with blood.

But the Annamese army was defeated too quickly, and now Tran Quoc Tuan no longer even has that hope.

Now all he wanted was to lead his personal guards out of the Han army's encirclement, escape the pursuit of the Han cavalry, and retreat to the south bank of the Fulang River.

After this battle, the capital of Annam, Thang Long, is certainly lost. However, there are still many prefectures and vast mountainous forests in southern Annam, which can inflict maximum damage on the Han army. Even if he is to die, he wants to die with more value.

However, it's easier said than done.

The Han cavalry had long been eyeing his cavalry unit, a rarity in the Annamese army, and squads of cavalry charged toward him.

Despite Chen Guojun's bravery and the loyalty of his personal guards, the number of men in this cavalry unit was rapidly decreasing.

Before long, Chen Guojun was left with only about thirty riders.

At this moment, another Han army centurion charged towards Chen Guojun.

The leading officer, with a dark complexion, stood at the forefront of the Han army. He seemed to be the centurion of this Han army, and he viciously thrust a long spear at Chen Guojun.

"Die!"

when!
Chen Guojun roared, parrying the spear of the Han army centurion with his long sword, and then slashed down at the centurion's left arm!
Ka!

With his precious sword and his innate superhuman strength, Chen Guojun actually managed to cut off the left arm of the Han army centurion!

"what!"

The centurion cried out in pain, turned his horse aside, and fled!
"These are Han Chinese soldiers!"

A sudden realization dawned on Chen Guojun.

Having fought for so long, he understood the disparity in combat strength within the Han army. The centurion before him was likely not a member of the Eight Banners, but rather a local militia. Otherwise, he would never have been able to defeat an Eight Banners centurion so easily in one move.

However, knowing that the hundred cavalrymen in front of him were local soldiers did not make Chen Guojun feel much more at ease.

The prolonged fighting had rapidly depleted his and his men's strength. The numerical disadvantage was also irreconcilable.

Most importantly, the morale of the Han army's soldiers was not low.

"kill!"

Despite the centurion's defeat and serious injury, the hundred or so soldiers did not scatter. On the contrary, fearing that the entire centurion would be punished by military law if he died, the soldiers shouted and surged even more frantically towards Chen Guojun and his guards.

Kill kill kill!

Chop, chop, chop!
As the horses galloped, a hundred or so Han soldiers had become completely intertwined with Chen Guojun's personal guards.

The battle cries were deafening, weapons clashed, and blood flew everywhere. Chen Guojun's personal guards fell from their horses one after another, and their numbers dwindled.

"Die!"

"Go to hell!"

Chen Guojun roared and killed three people in succession, but his warhorse was also pierced in the neck by a spear that flew from the side and fell to the ground with a mournful cry.

Chen Guojun was also thrown heavily to the ground.

A Han soldier spurred his horse and rode up, thrusting his spear at the enemy.

Before Chen Guojun could react, a guard who had also fallen from his horse shoved him aside. The spear in the Han army soldier's hand pierced through the guard's chest, then through his back, and with a thud, embedded itself into the ground behind him.

Chen Guojun's personal guard cried out in anguish, still reaching out to grab the reins of the soldier's warhorse.

As the soldier was about to draw his spear and stab again, Chen Guojun took off his waist knife and slashed it across the neck of the soldier's warhorse.

The warhorse let out a mournful neigh and threw the soldier to the ground.

With a flash of cold light, Chen Guojun beheaded the soldier with a single stroke.

However, Chen Guojun's bravery ended there.

The Han army had almost wiped out his personal guards, and taking advantage of his lack of horses, they quickly changed tactics.

They charged in one by one, not engaging him in direct combat, but striking him with their weapons and then retreating. Some even fired heavy arrows at him from a distance!
Dang Dang Dang!
After dozens of loud bangs, Chen Guojun's arms went numb, as if the knife in his hand weighed a ton.

"kill!"

Another Han army knight, wielding an iron mace, slammed it down hard at Chen Guojun.

when!
With a muffled thud, Chen Guojun's waist knife not only failed to deflect the iron mace, but he also released it. The iron mace slammed directly into Chen Guojun's helmet, making him see stars!

"Ok?"

The knight thought he still couldn't do anything to the Annamese general in front of him, and was overjoyed. He reined in his horse and swung the mace down again!
a bit!
Twice!

Three times!

The helmet was badly dented, and blood streamed down Chen Guojun's face.

Pfft!
Chen Guojun's corpse fell to the ground!
Tran Quoc Tuan was no ordinary man; he was a remarkable hero among the Annamese recorded in history. "King Hung Dao was indeed loyal to his monarch and the country. Despite his immense power, he remained dutiful to his subjects, never daring to be arrogant or haughty. When the Yuan army invaded, King Hung Dao held military power, and Emperors Sanh Thong and Nhan Thong entrusted him with the authority to bestow titles and ranks, allowing him to grant titles before receiving approval… Upon his death, from the emperor down to the common people, everyone mourned him. People in many places erected shrines to commemorate his great achievements and virtues."

But so what?

Thus, this Annamese hero, who had defeated two Yuan invasions in history, was known as "King Hung Dao" by the Annamese, and whose image was even printed on Annamese banknotes, died at the hands of an ordinary Han soldier!
With Chen Guojun dead, the battle was nearing its end.

After all, in the open field, cavalry is a complete massacre for unorganized infantry.

Another hour later.

"In this battle, of the 30,000 Annamese soldiers, we beheaded 12,000 and captured 15,000, all of whom we also executed. This is the head of Tran Quoc Tuan, a member of the Annamese royal family and the commander-in-chief of the Annamese army that attacked us!"

Chen Guojun's identity has been recognized by the surrendered Annamese soldiers. Now, his tattered and blood-stained head is being held high in the hands of the Sixth Prince Zhao Mu.

He was deeply moved by the great victory he had achieved on his first command of troops. Looking at his soldiers, he said, "Zheng Wu!"

"exist!"

"You come forward."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zheng Wu strode up to Zhao Mu and bowed deeply, saying, "Zheng Wu, a soldier of the garrison, pays respects to the Sixth Prince!"

Zhao Mu said, "I am relieved that you have killed Chen Guojun in battle. As for how to reward him, the court has its own system, and I cannot interfere. However, I will reward you with one hundred taels of silver in my personal capacity. Furthermore, your centurion Yang Zhuoling is seriously injured, and I hereby appoint you to temporarily assume the position of centurion."

"Thank you, Sixth Prince!"

Zheng Wu couldn't be happier right now.

One hundred taels of silver was equivalent to five years' income in China. In later times, it would be equivalent to being awarded five years' salary at once.

Although this position of centurion is only temporary, it will certainly be officially recognized when the court rewards those who have rendered meritorious service.

A centurion in the local militia is equivalent to a ninth-rank official, or even an eighth-rank official! If he were willing to immigrate to Annam, he could probably reach the seventh rank!
Too small!

Zheng Wu really felt that his previous perspective was too narrow.

He previously thought that immigrating to Annam, having one wife and two concubines, and owning two hundred acres of paddy fields was the greatest fortune of his life.

Unexpectedly, by sheer luck, Chen Guojun chose to attack his own centurion. Moreover, it was Zheng Wu who ultimately launched the final attack against Chen Guojun. Having slain a member of the Annam royal family, and a high-ranking general at that, Zheng Wu's career skyrocketed!
In the future, he will establish his family in Annam, and the Zheng family, a great clan, will rise in Annam!

Zhao Mu continued, "Are you willing to lead this centurion across the river and break through the Annamese's Phuc Luong River defense line in one fell swoop?"

Zheng Wu shouted, "I'm willing!"

"very good."

Zhao Mu looked at the generals and soldiers and said, "Now I will issue my order: except for Zheng Wu's troops, all the troops of the prefecture will continue to garrison Jialin and wipe out the remaining enemy. Zheng Wu's troops, as well as all the Eight Banner troops, will follow me across the river!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers responded in unison, their voices resounding through the sky.

The Han army had already built many boats and bamboo rafts in preparation for crossing the river, and the Annamese, in their full-scale attack, left many more boats on the riverbank.

Zhao Mu led his soldiers across the Fuliang River.

Similar scenes are constantly unfolding along the banks of the Fulang River.

Zhao Mu's 4,000 Eight Banner troops were relatively few. In fact, the Han army on the north bank of the Fulang River consisted of the original five Han army commanders, plus three Han army commanders newly transferred by Zhao Shuo, and three Song army commanders, totaling 110,000 field troops. The Fubing (military garrison) only numbered 70,000.

Some of them, like Zhao Mu, lured the Annamese army to the designated battlefield and then slaughtered them like cutting melons and vegetables.

Some who failed to achieve their goal had no choice but to dismount and fight the Annamese army in the rice paddies along the Phuc Luong River.

That's alright, the Han army has the Mandarin Duck Formation!

This is the most suitable tactic for fighting in the rice paddies.

Look at the battle records of Qi Jiguang using the Mandarin Duck Formation.

In the Battle of Huajie in Taizhou, we annihilated a thousand enemy soldiers while losing three of our own, a casualty ratio of one to three hundred and thirty-three!

In the Battle of Baishuiyang, more than 2,000 Japanese pirates were annihilated, while 20 of our own men were killed in action.

In the Battle of Niutian, they defeated tens of thousands of Japanese pirates, stormed their largest stronghold in Fujian, beheaded hundreds, and suffered no casualties on their own side.

In the Battle of Xianyou, despite being outnumbered, they defeated more than 10,000 Japanese pirates who were besieging Xianyou County, killing more than 2,000 enemy soldiers while suffering only 24 casualties on their own.

In the Battle of Lindun, more than 4,000 enemy soldiers were killed and more than 2,000 civilians were rescued, while 90 of our own soldiers were killed in action.

The casualty ratio was 1 to 44.

This battle resulted in significant losses for Qi Jiguang's army. Due to the complex terrain and flawed intelligence, they initially faced a tough fight, but ultimately achieved a annihilation victory with an extremely high exchange rate.

It must be said that with the Mandarin Duck Formation, the Eight Banners army, even when dismounted and fighting on foot, still completely overwhelmed the Annam army!

Not to mention, the Han army's field army was nearly three times larger than the Annam regular army, and had an absolute advantage in armor, equipment, and training.

The Han army that crossed the Fulang River that day numbered 20,000!

The next day, of the 110,000 Han troops, only 20,000 remained on the north bank of the Fulang River as Zhao He's central army and reserve force.

The remaining 90,000 troops had all crossed the Phluang River and launched an attack on the Annamese army camps and cities on the south bank.

At this time, the main force of the Annamese army had been annihilated on the north bank of the Phuc Luong River, leaving only a small number of soldiers and some elderly, weak, women and children on the south bank.

What are you waiting for?
Kill kill kill!

Kill, kill, kill!
A raging fire burned on the south bank of the Fulang River, and heads fell to the ground one by one.

As I said before, if you don't want to be Chinese, then you don't need to be! This place will be populated by Han immigrants and turned into fertile land for Chinese people.

The Han army strictly followed Zhao Shuo's orders, laying the wheels flat and leaving only the young women behind.

Half a month later, the area fifty li south of the Fulang River had been razed by the Han army. Over a million heads were taken, and nine enormous mounds of skulls were erected, leaving only 260,000 young women behind.

"Quickly! Report the victory to Father! Lubu has achieved a great victory!"

Inside the central command tent, Zhao He, after tallying the battle results, was in high spirits and issued the order: "Tell Father that our army has broken through the Phu Luong River defense line. We have beheaded a million, and the corpses stretch for nine hundred miles. The main force of Annam has been completely annihilated here!"

(End of this chapter)