Chapter 361: Fight to the Death

Chapter 361: Fight to the Death

Chapter 361: Fight to the Death
Even late at night, whether in Dingbian City or nearby,
There was no quietness unique to the night, but instead it was extremely noisy.

There were constant shouts and roars of artillery fire.
The air was filled with anxiety, making it impossible to fall asleep.

The people in the city would often fall asleep in a daze, and then be suddenly awakened by the sound of artillery fire.

The soldiers in the Luchuan camp,
They were often awakened by the hurried footsteps of the soldiers and the shouts of the officers.

In the past, they would not wake up even if horses were galloping beside them.

Things are different now. The battle in Dingbian is too terrifying and makes people uneasy.

The breath of death loomed over everyone's head.

It makes people unable to sleep and unable to defecate.

There have been some rumors in the army that the Ming Dynasty is not far behind.

The defenders of Chuxiong were completely unable to stop the Ming army.

The Ming army will arrive soon and defeat the entire Luchuan army in the rear.

Although the military discipline officers have killed many people because of such rumors,

But because of this, the rumors became more and more intense.

The closer we got to the central military tent, the more we felt this was true.

It was because their king, Silunfa, became increasingly irritable during the three days of the siege.
Even General Shama, who had never been reprimanded before, was severely reprimanded.

At this moment, the king’s mad roar could be heard near the central military tent.

The soldiers around him were silent, and the guards lowered their heads tightly.

The edge of the spear in his hand was not as sharp as before, and he seemed to have completely forgotten his duty as a guard.

In the military tent, Si Lunfa did not sit at the head of the table.
Instead, he paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.
Like an angry lion, with eyes wide open,

His beard, which was once as distinct as steel, now had some gray in it, as did his hair.

Three days of fighting made him look much older.

Inside the military tent, Haniya, the frontline commander of Luchuan, was standing quietly by the side.

His clothes looked a little more shabby.

But his eyes remained calm, and his whole body was filled with steadiness.

Standing next to him was his eldest son, Si Xingfa, with the same arrogance on his face.

But the edge on his body is no longer as sharp as when the battle just started.

His clenched fists and tense brows filled his heart with uneasiness.

His eyes stayed on the white tiger carpet in the military tent.
It was no longer clean and tidy as before, but had a bit more scarlet color, with sticky blood coagulating on it.

Let the white tiger hair get tangled together, just like my father's hair at this moment.

After taking a deep breath, Si Xingfa slowly raised his head and said in a deep voice:

"Father, it was already foreseen that Xila would not be able to stop the Ming army.
There is no need to be angry at such an arrogant person. "

Si Lunfa paused and glared at Si Xingfa:
"How dare you mention him? This rubbish,
Even if he pretends to be suspicious, he can delay for a few days. I know he is stupid.

But I didn't expect him to be so stupid!"

Haniya on the side spoke calmly:
"Lord, the Ming army is less than a hundred miles away from Dali Dingbian.

According to their speed of traveling at night,
The Nan'an Prefecture defended by Xilayi may not have lasted for half a day before it was captured. It is indeed a waste."

His voice was extremely cold, and there was a hint of disdain in his calm eyes.

Si Lunfa glanced at him, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes.
"Do you think it's inappropriate for me to place him there?"

Haniya nodded slightly, her voice calm:
"At that time, 70% of the generals in the army disagreed with this matter, and I disagreed with it too.

But the national leader ignored the opposition and gave him a chance to make a contribution.
Now it seems that he can't grasp the opportunity, nor does he have the ability to grasp the opportunity.

Instead, it put us in danger!"

Si Lunfa's breathing suddenly became rapid.

The surging anger almost overwhelmed him. He looked at Haniya with gnashing teeth.

But what greeted him were eyes that were calm to the extreme.

Si Lunfa grabbed the expensive teacup on the table.
Then he threw it to the ground with force and roared:

"Haniaya, who are you showing this to?

Do you want to show your power to me?"

These words were so serious that even Si Xingfa, who had always been favored, shut his mouth silently and stopped talking.

Haniya still looks the same as before:

"My Lord, I am the commander of the Luchuan front.
Countless eyes in the army were staring at his subordinates.

If my subordinates show even a hint of panic, the morale that we are trying so hard to maintain will collapse."

Si Lunfa's eyes were wide open, staring at him intently, breathing like a bellows, his heart filled with rage.

Haniaya continued:
"My Lord, now is not the time to be angry.
It has been proven that Xila is also a waste, so there is no need to waste energy on him.

The Ming army is less than a hundred miles away from here and can arrive in three days.
If the cavalry advances, they can arrive in two days.

I ask the Lord to set the rules as soon as possible so that I can formulate a strategy to deal with the enemy."

After these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the military tent became even more solemn.

The guards at the edge of the military tent lowered their heads tightly, with extreme fear on their faces.

There are only a few people in the country who can talk to the king like this.
Now Lord Hanba is missing, General Aruta is dead, and only General Haniya is left.

As they expected, the king did not get angry.
Instead, he took a deep breath and sat back in the chair as usual.

"Tell me your strategy."

Haniya did not hesitate and spoke in a deep voice:
"When facing the attacking Ming army, we have only two options: fight or flee."

"If we fight, I will withdraw 70% of the elite troops currently besieging the city.

He also deployed all his elephant soldiers to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army in the direction of Chuxiong.

At that time, Dingbian City attacked and defended the aliens,

Our elite troops must guard the surroundings closely to prevent the Ming troops in the city from breaking out and harassing our rear.

In this way, the outcome is only fifty-fifty.
But whether we win or lose, it will have a profound impact on the future situation.”

"If you leave, I will mobilize all the elite troops I can in the next day to make a final attempt to attack the city.
If we cannot capture it before dark, we will leave this place overnight.

With the support of reinforcements from the south, they withdrew to Jingdong and returned to a standoff.

If this is the choice, the chances of escape are 90%.
Although we can return to a standoff, the situation is very unfavorable for Luchuan."

When the two options come out, whether it is the Si Lun method or the Si Xing method,
The guards on both sides of the military tent felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

Both approaches are too extreme.

Si Xingfa looked at his father and saw that his face was gloomy.
I immediately knew what my father was thinking, so I took the initiative to ask:
"General Haniya, is there no third option?"

Unexpectedly, Haniya nodded slightly:
"Have."

A group of people looked over, and Haniya said calmly:
"We will capture Dingbian City tonight, and then enter the city to station elite troops.

The rest of the troops set out for Jinchiwei, captured it overnight, opened up the road, and subsequently planned to take over Yunlongzhou and Yongping.

As for Dali, the elite troops of the Ming army will firmly hold Dali, and then a confrontation situation will be formed again.

However, the confrontation location has changed from Jingdong to Dali, which is a greater threat to Ming Dynasty and also a greater challenge to us.

Dali is the gateway to the entire western part of Yunnan.

The Ming people would never tolerate the loss of Dali and the deterioration of the entire southwest.

When that time comes, what awaits me is the Ming Empire, which will go all out and spare no expense."

After a pause, Haniya's eyes were sharp and a bit heavy:

"Compared to the confrontation in Dali, I think it is better to confront in Jingdong.
There, they can attack or defend, and the Ming Dynasty is in an awkward situation that it cannot tolerate but will not fight to the death. "

"Do you think we won't have a good ending after breaking into Dali?" Si Lunfa asked in a deep voice.

Hania nodded calmly:
"The Ming army came too quickly. If they had come at night,

We will then be able to attack Dali directly, and thus take control of the battlefield and be able to attack or defend.

But now, the Ming people have taken precautions.

My observations over the past few days have confirmed that
The troops stationed at Dingbian are all elite troops from Beijing.
They also took out a lot of weapons that Yunnan didn't have, which caused us to suffer a great loss.

As a result, our Luchuan Army has lost the initiative on the battlefield and has to depend on the Chuxiong Ming Army’s mood.”

Si Xingfa spoke again:
"General Haniya, can we send a part of our army to Chuxiong to intercept them, so as to buy time for the rest of our elite troops?"

Even though he knew that Haniya was a famous general on the southeastern front of Luchuan,
He had certainly taken all these into consideration, but he was still a little unwilling and wanted to ask.

Si Lunfa also looked over at him, he was unwilling to give up.

After nearly two years of planning, I tried every possible means.
He was unwilling to let the matter be resolved silently like this!

Haniya shook her head:

"At this time, the leader of Luchuan's army is the king, and the general of the Ming army is the Marquis of Xiping.
Both sides have sent out their best troops, and the battle will be a decisive one!

Dividing our forces at this moment is the most foolish thing to do, and is tantamount to handing victory to others."

Although he was prepared, Si Xingfa still slowly raised his head.

He closed his eyes slightly and let out a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes again:

"General Haniya, can we use the soldiers in the Jingdong camp to defeat the Ming army in Chuxiong?"

Haniaya calmly shook her head and looked at the bloodstains on the ground:
"Your Highness, quality is more important than quantity.
When the real decisive battle comes, we can't rely on anyone but ourselves.

Their joining will not make the battle go more smoothly.
Instead, the defeat of the miscellaneous soldiers will drag us into the abyss.

Besides, Aju Miao and the others were unwilling to come here, and they did not have the courage to fight the Ming army.

The people causing chaos in Jingdong now are the Ming Empire's absolutely elite front-line scouts.

We can confirm this through past information.

This was the main force when the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty.
Not only did he annihilate nearly 20,000 Northern Yuan soldiers, but he also captured the three kings of the Northeast.

After arriving in Yunnan, his commander Lu Yunyi single-handedly managed the Dali war.

This is where the situation starts to change.

As a result, the Jinchiwei and Youyu tribes were completely lost, and we had no choice but to ask General Aruta to go to Dali to delay the Ming army.

General Aruta is good at breaking through cities. If he were still here, Dingbian would not be able to hold us back for so long."

A trace of disgust flashed in Si Xingfa's eyes:
"General Haniaya, aren't you just boosting others' morale and destroying your own prestige by saying this?"

Haniya shook her head:

"I want to tell your Highness that the Ming army in Jingdong needs our 20,000 soldiers from Luchuan to contain them.
It is a force that deserves more attention than the garrison in Dingbian City.
The soldiers in the south and the troops in Siam and Annan could not withdraw.
If the situation permits, I will also dispatch people to help guard against it."

As she spoke, Haniya's expression finally changed, and she sighed softly:

"If we are not careful, we will lose the chance to retreat.
You can only fight to the death here, and then die here."

A sudden sense of desolation surged in the huge military tent.
Almost everyone felt that Luchuan's national destiny was crumbling.

It seems like the sun is setting and will soon end.

After an unknown amount of time, Si Lunfa, who had been silent all this time, slowly raised his head.
The anger and violence disappeared from his face, and he became calm instead:
"Luchuan has paid too much in the war so far, and this king has no way out."

His eyes suddenly became sharp, and he looked straight at Haniya:
"Hani Aya! I will fight Mu Ying to the death here!"

Haniya was silent for a moment, then bowed and said calmly:
"Yes."

Si Lunfa's eyes were deep, his body leaning back in a large and luxurious chair, his voice was calm:
"When two countries go to war, they can lose countless times. They only need to win the most crucial one."

As Mu Ying finished speaking, his body swayed slightly as the warhorse rocked.
His eyes were somewhat empty as he stared blankly at the large group of cavalry spreading across the sky and earth. Soon, his eyes were filled with dazzling brilliance.

Next to him was Ning Zheng, the Second Rank Commander of Yunnan and Dragon and Tiger General of the Ming Dynasty.
He is now fifty-one years old, with a square face, dark complexion, deep eye sockets and a little beard.

He is not that strong, but looks full of energy.

Hearing this, he smiled and nodded:

"Yes, as long as we win this battle, Yunnan will have nothing to worry about from now on."

Mu Ying turned his head to look at the old fellow.
The two had worked together more than ten years ago, jointly conquering Xifan and Shanglin.

Seeing Ning Zheng getting older, Mu Ying suddenly felt a little emotional:
"I remember you were only a few years older than me. How come you look so old after not seeing you for half a year?"

Ning Zheng laughed dryly twice:
“Seven years is not too old, people say that people grow old in an instant.

Somehow, seeing Si Lunfa step by step into the trap,

Once the burden in one's heart is lifted, one becomes even more useless."

As he spoke, Ning Zheng's rough, old hands left the horse's stiff body and pounded his legs hard to relieve the soreness caused by galloping.

Mu Ying laughed:

"I'm old, I'm all old, waiting for the war to end, so I can finally take a break."

As he spoke, Mu Ying seemed to remember something.
The smile on his face grew wider and wider, and he looked at Ning Zheng:
"In my opinion, you still can't rest.

Ning Zhong is still young and flamboyant.

I have caused a lot of trouble in Kunming City, and you will suffer in the future."

After saying this, Ning Zheng's originally dark face turned as black as charcoal, and he gritted his teeth.

"This little bastard, I will teach him a lesson after this war is over.
"I don't believe that he won't become a good person if he gets beaten three times a day."

"Hahahaha, kids need experience.
Let him go out and explore, and guard him at home every day, which is not a big deal."

Ning Zheng didn't say anything. He only had two sons and he was reluctant to let either of them go.

His thoughts were very simple. He worked so hard outside just so that his children could live a rich life.

Taking a deep breath, Ning Zheng changed the subject:

"Where is Mu Chun? Why can't I see him?"

Mu Ying smiled and said, "He took his soldiers and went to Jingdong.
We must not let Si Lunfa escape this time no matter what."

"How many soldiers did you bring?" Ning Zheng was a little surprised at first, and then nodded slightly.

Mu Ying smiled and said:
"Not many, three thousand. With my son-in-law, we can make up seven or eight thousand.
It's enough to stop Si Lunfa once or twice."

After hearing this, Ning Zheng's face darkened again.
I was secretly envious and felt that I should throw the rice bucket out at home to gain experience.

Ning Zheng looked into the distance, looking at the looming Dali border in front of him, and sighed:
"hope everything is fine."

(End of this chapter)