Chapter 17 The Battle of Changle
Changle County was originally an inconspicuous small county town at the northeast end of Henan Road, but after just the beginning of winter this year, it suddenly became the focus of the entire Tang Dynasty. Because the rebel Liu Heita gathered heavy troops here and prepared to continue to attack the heart of the Tang Dynasty, but unexpectedly, he encountered a large army led by Prince Li Jiancheng. Both sides set up a large formation under the small Changle County town and launched a life-and-death battle that determined the fate of the Tang Dynasty.
Liu Heita called himself the King of the East Han, so his army was also called the Han army. The south of Changle City was a wide plain, which was also the main battlefield between the army and the Tang army. The two sides had fought here for several days, but they were still indifferent. Moreover, both sides were already red in their eyes. The conspiracies and tricks on the battlefield had lost their effect, and only pure strength was left. Whoever could persevere to the end could win the war.
"Kill and kill~" The Tang army had already dispatched the most elite Modao team at this time, and the Han army opposite also used elite cavalry borrowed from the Turks. The two elite troops finally collided on the battlefield, with flesh and blood flying around, and human lives really turned into grass here.
Behind the Tang army, a handsome young man rode on a horse, looking at the battle scene indifferently. He was His Royal Highness of the Tang Dynasty and Li Yuan's eldest son Li Jiancheng. As the prince, he did not need him to lead the troops himself. In recent years, his good brother led his troops to fight in the east and west and made many contributions, which made him feel a powerful threat. Therefore, this time he took the initiative to lead the troops. As long as Liu Heita can be pacified, no one can shake his position as the prince.
"Brother, it's time!" On this iron and blood battlefield, a crisp and soft female voice suddenly sounded, awakening Li Jiancheng who was thinking deeply.
At that moment, Li Jiancheng turned his head and looked at the woman in armor next to him with a smile and said, "San Sister, are you sure?"
If she can be called the third sister by Li Jiancheng, it is naturally the famous Princess Pingyang. She saw that Princess Pingyang was at most in her early twenties. She had a standard oval face, delicate facial features, fair skin, and very gentle appearance. If she changed into armor and put on women's clothing at this time, she would immediately become a beautiful beauty who was fascinating to the country. I am afraid that the person who saw her for the first time would not believe that this beautiful woman was actually a majestic female general.
"It is now the critical moment of the decisive battle. Whether I am sure or not, I will try my best to end this war as soon as possible. Too many soldiers have died here!" Princess Pingyang raised her long eyebrows with a delicate look on her face. Just a raising eyebrow actually made her originally soft facial features become heroic, making people dare not look directly at her.
"Sister Three, you are still so soft-hearted!" Looking at his sister, Li Jiancheng's cold face rarely showed a look of concern. His mother, Empress Dou, has five children in total, and Princess Pingyang is the only daughter. As the eldest brother, he is naturally very concerned about his sister. And to be honest, the Li family owes too much Princess Pingyang.
"Every soldier has his own parents, wife and children behind him. If the war ends sooner, fewer people will die. So I asked my elder brother to order our Detachment of Women to fight!" Princess Pingyang asked Li Jiancheng again after saying that.
"Go, but you have to ensure your safety. Even if you lose this war, I don't want to see you get hurt!" Li Jiancheng said at the end, and his mother died early, and his father Li Yuan had no time to take care of the family. So when he was young, Li Jiancheng always took care of Princess Pingyang and other younger brothers and sisters, and the relationship between brothers and sisters was naturally very deep.
"Thank you, brother!" Princess Pingyang also showed a warm smile on her face, then turned her head and came to the rear of the army. There was a army of ten thousand people waiting to be on the verge of fighting, ready to fight at any time.
"The Women's Detachment Army obeys the orders, kill!" With Princess Pingyang's orders, a strange drum sounded from the Women's Detachment Army of more than 10,000 people. The soldiers in the army stepped on the drum beat and walked around the left side of the battlefield, and then suddenly rushed out, piercing straight into the left wing of the Han army like a sharp blade.
Originally, the two sides fighting were difficult to resolve and maintained a delicate balance on the battlefield. However, when the Detachment of Women with more than 10,000 people suddenly broke out, the balance on the battlefield was immediately broken, and the Detachment of Women was ordered to be executed. Under the command of Princess Pingyang, the army broke through the periphery of the Han army in the blink of an eye, and was about to enter the central army of the Han army.
When Liu Heita saw the sudden change on the battlefield, he was shocked. He thought that the Tang army had used its reserve force like him, but he did not expect that they were still ambushing a new force. However, Liu Heita was also in the battlefield for a long time. Although he was shocked in the face of this unfavorable situation, he immediately commanded the army around him to meet it, hoping to block the army that suddenly broke out.
Although Liu Heita's reaction was fast, his army had a fatal flaw. In the first half of this year, his army was almost dispersed by Li Shimin. Now the main force of his army was actually borrowed from the Turks. He was not so easy to command. He usually had nothing, but when he encountered such a critical moment, this difference was revealed.
Although Princess Pingyang was a woman, she was a genius general. She quickly seized the command loopholes in the Han army, and commanded the army to break through the enemy's blockade again and continue to fight towards the central army. Seeing this situation, Liu Heita couldn't help but sigh to the sky, and shouted in grief and anger: "Retreat!"
Liu Heita's central army retreated, and the morale of the Han army immediately became unstable. Li Jiancheng behind him also seized the fighter's opportunity and commanded the three armies to push the entire line. Now the Han army could not withstand this intensity of attack. The entire front began to collapse little by little, and finally retreated on the whole line. The Tang army behind him covered the battle all the way, and the outcome of the war was decided.
In the evening, the pursuing Tang army finally retreated. Although Liu Heita fled, his army suffered heavy losses. The next step was a simple pursuit battle. As for Liu Heita's desire to turn the tables, it was basically unlikely that. It can be said that this battle had laid the foundation for the Tang army's victory.
After winning, almost all Tang soldiers were very happy. Princess Pingyang made the first contribution. However, she didn't care about being happy. Instead, she frowned and began to treat the injured soldiers under her. In fact, she didn't like to fight because war always caused casualties. When she saw her soldiers slumping one by one on the battlefield, Princess Pingyang felt extremely sad. This may be the reason why the woman was away from the battlefield. Unfortunately, she was forced to embark on this road.
Liu Heita retreated. Princess Pingyang did not pursue like other Tang army generals, but instead directed her subordinates to rescue the wounded. Whether it was the Tang army or the Han army, as long as they were still alive, they would be carried into the wounded camp by the Detachment of Women. The people in Changle County had fled and could be used to accommodate these wounded soldiers. However, looking at the injured soldiers who were being treated, Princess Pingyang did not show any relaxation on her face, because she knew that most of these wounded soldiers might die in the wounded camp due to their worsening injuries.
Night finally slowly came, and the wounded on the battlefield were finally cleaned up. Princess Pingyang sat in the tent with expressionless face, listening to the casualties reported by her subordinates.
"In this battle, our Tang Dynasty killed 3,761 people and 7,372 people were injured, of which less than half were slightly injured, and more than 4,000 people were seriously injured..."
"Don't say this, just tell me how many of these seriously injured people can survive?" Princess Pingyang interrupted her subordinates with some irritation. There are no ones who will be injured when fighting. Among them, minor injuries are better, and it will be fine if they are cared for a few days. But the key is that the severely injured people are cold and better now, at least the wounds are not prone to ulceration. If it is summer, most of these seriously injured people will die in pain.
Hearing Princess Pingyang's question, the report's subordinate hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Your Highness, according to usual estimates, nearly half of the 4,000 seriously injured people can survive, but the new Medical Officer Feng promised that most of the seriously injured people could survive. It is said that he knew a new method of healing, but he didn't know whether it was true or false?"
"Feng Kuang?" Princess Pingyang was stunned when she heard this. She naturally recognized her old subordinates. In fact, Feng Kuang suddenly ran to the military camp a few days ago and said that she was following Ma Sanbao's orders and brought a new medical technique to treat the wounded. However, Princess Pingyang was busy discussing with her elder brother Li Jiancheng to deal with Liu Heita's army, so she had no time to care about this matter. She just gave Feng Kuang the identity of a medical officer out of trust in Ma Sanbao.
"Did Feng Kuang really say that?" Princess Pingyang finally reacted at this time and said excitedly. She knew Feng Kuang. If she was not very sure, he would never dare to say such big words.
"Medical Officer Feng did say that, and other medical officers seem to highly respect Medical Officer Feng's treatment methods..."
"Take me to the wounded barracks!" Princess Pingyang could no longer sit still when she heard this. She interrupted her subordinates again and stood up and walked towards the wounded barracks. Speaking of which, like Ma Sanbao, the place she was most reluctant to go to was the wounded barracks, because from top to bottom, there was a smell of death and despair. However, when she suddenly heard such good news today, Princess Pingyang decided that she had to take a look at the treatment methods brought by Feng Kuang in person!
Chapter completed!