After Li Shimin and the others returned to the city, they pondered, and Fang Er once again dispatched Wang Xuance and Xue Rengui to pilot helicopters back to keep a distant watch on the movements of that large army, to avoid being caught unaware when the enemy reached their doorstep.
The next day, Cheng Yaojin's twenty thousand strong army finally arrived at Suiye City.
It wasn't until the third day that Zhuzi and the others arrived in their hovercraft.
Upon first sight of the hovercraft, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong were astonished. Their initial impression of these vessels was that they were simply too large!
Outside the city, Li Shimin, observing the two impressive ships, issued commands with great spirit.
Board the ships! Depart!
Chai Shao, Cheng Yaojin, Fang Er, and others boarded the vessels together.
Six helicopters and two hovercraft roared towards the location of their previous engagement.
Among the twenty thousand Guiyi Protectorate troops, ten thousand were equipped with firearms and accompanied them. Ma Chao, leading the second division of the Tianhuo Army, also mobilized his entire force.
The remaining ten thousand Guiyi Protectorate troops were left to guard Suiye City.
After less than two hours of marching, a helicopter detached from the formation ahead and returned. It was Wang Xuance, who, upon seeing the army below, quickly reported the situation to them via the intercom.
Report, the enemy has encamped thirty li ahead!
On the hovercraft, upon hearing this, Li Shimin and Fang Er exchanged a knowing smile.
Hahahaha, that scoundrel ahead is scared!
Marching for two days and covering such a short distance could only be explained as a lack of fighting spirit. Were they eager to fight but afraid to do so?
Unfortunately, he had missed the best opportunity to engage!
Listening to Cheng Yaojin and the others' discussions, Li Shimin nodded, "Then let the old fellows teach these rats ahead how to wage war!"
Fang Er, standing nearby, picked up the intercom and issued orders to the fire control room.
Activate the sonar radar and scan directly ahead!
Radar is active, scanning~
Soon, a response came back from the fire control room.
Report, Lord Duke! Radar has detected targets, thirty-three in total. Please provide instructions!
Hearing the voice through the intercom, everyone present turned their gaze towards Fang Er in unison.
Li Shimin asked with immense shock, "From thirty li away, the fire control room can already see them?"
Fang Er replied with a smile, "Yes, though we cannot see the individuals, only the vehicles ahead, as the human body's reflected waves are too weak."
"Furthermore," he added, "not only can we see them, but we can also launch rocket artillery at them from here."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin trembled with excitement. He suddenly felt that thirty million for each was an absolute bargain!
Then what are we waiting for? Fire!
Fang Er, however, shook his head. "Your Majesty, among that large army are ancient, fierce generals of our Han lineage, such as Hegemon King Xiang Yu and Martial Saint Guan Yun Chang. It would be a great pity for them to fall to rocket artillery. Let the helicopters scout their positions first."
"Yes, yes, these ancestors are all role models for us warriors. It would be best to persuade them to surrender," Qin Qiong also chimed in with a suggestion.
Li Shimin nodded slightly, stroking his beard. "Then dispatch people quickly to investigate!"
As the order was given, the helicopters all detached from the main force and flew towards the front.
Soon, news returned: "We've found them. They are moving rapidly, appearing to be heading towards the rear of the enemy army."
"They are at least a li apart from the tanks!"
Hearing this, Fang Er picked up the intercom. "Target those three tanks and blow them to smithereens!"
Yes!
The fire control room quickly responded.
On the sonar radar monitor, the radar wave signals reflected by the tanks and vehicles were distinct, making it easy to identify the three identical tank targets.
The soldiers in the fire control room quickly locked onto the targets, and the fire control system adjusted the firing angle of the projectiles.
Rocket artillery ready, requesting to fire!
Fire!
Upon receiving Li Shimin's command, the soldiers in the fire control room immediately pressed the ignition switch.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~
From the two hovercraft, the four 22-tube rocket launchers fired all eighty-eight rockets in a very short period.
Long rockets, trailing bright flames, flew straight into the distance.
This was the first long-range strike in world history!
And thirty li away, the three tanks, interspersed among the slave soldiers, were completely unaware that the scythe of death was already flying towards them.
From the machine gun ports of the tanks, soldiers were firing at the helicopters in the air, enjoying the sensation immensely.
It felt exhilarating to see the mysterious, massive helicopters evasively changing flight paths in the air, pursued by bullets!
Soon, someone spotted the bright points of light rapidly flying towards them from the sky ahead.
Bang bang bang!
The machine gunner slammed against the tank, simultaneously shouting excitedly to his companions inside.
"Quick, come out and watch the meteor shower!"
However, the noise generated by the tanks on the move was too loud, and coupled with the slave soldiers grumbling and cursing as they marched, no one could clearly hear the call to watch meteor showers.
Soon, the machine gunner realized something was wrong. Based on the trajectory of the light points, they seemed to be heading directly towards them.
He quickly scrambled back into the tank, closed the hatch on top, and warned his companions in their ears.
But the next moment, eighty-eight rocket artillery shells enveloped them completely. The slave soldiers gathered around the tanks were first blown over by the blast wave from the tanks' firing, and then hurled far away by the shockwave from the exploding rocket artillery.
An area with a diameter of over a hundred meters was cleared, centered on the three tanks.
Countless fragments from the explosions, shredded limbs, and dismembered corpses, mixed with blood rain, rained down.
After the first volley, less than ten minutes later, a second volley arrived.
Out of caution for the T-90s, a full three volleys were fired, a total of 264 rocket artillery shells raining down around the three tanks.
Everyone was stunned!
The soldiers of Motorola's army, witnessing this scene, trembled and were speechless.
The tanks, like demonic gods, could blast open city gates with a single shot, but now they were being ruthlessly battered by artillery fire.
At this moment, Li Xiuning and her group at the rear of the army, looking at the plumes of fire rising in the distance, couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Upon seeing the formation of helicopters in the sky and the Tang cavalry approaching, she had immediately called Xiang Yu and others to retreat to the rear of the formation.
Although they had to obey that person's commands, they still had their freedom when no orders were issued.
Aside from the question of whether they could win, the mere act of killing Tang soldiers was something Li Xiuning could not accept.
Now, it seemed, if they hadn't retreated to the rear, they might have been caught in the crossfire.
She truly wondered what Er Lang had done for the Tang Dynasty to possess such terrifying strength!
After the baptism of three volleys of rocket artillery, Li Shimin cast a questioning glance at Fang Er. Upon seeing Fang Er nod, he began to issue orders.
Full army advance!
Notify the helicopters to bombard them fiercely with mortar shells for me!
The Protectorate Army and the Tianhuo Army will attack the enemy's flanks!
The hovercraft will push forward, conducting frontal cannon fire!
Yes!
Orders were issued from the hovercraft. The thirteen thousand cavalry of the Protectorate Army and the Tianhuo Army quickly divided into two formations and sped towards the battlefield fifty li away.
Under a full-speed advance, the army soon came face-to-face with the enemy.
The thirty…
At this moment, the cavalry and infantry driving the slave soldiers from the flanks could no longer manage them, as the Protectorate Army and the Tianhuo Army had already engaged them.
While they also used muzzle-loading rifles, the Protectorate Army's training was more refined. After a single volley, they discarded their rifles and drew their sabers and spears, decisively opting for close combat.
The Tianhuo Army was equipped with the Yun-2 bolt-action rifles. Pulling the bolt would eject the spent casing and load a new bullet into the chamber, allowing for a rate of fire that muzzle-loading rifles could not match.
The helicopters in the sky were also dropping mortar shells from the air.
The two hovercraft, having completed their ammunition reload, began their second round of firing.
Unlike the first volley, this time, the angle of the launch rack was raised slightly with each fired rocket. This was a saturation attack.
The enemy army, already at an extremely low morale, was bewildered by this multi-dimensional combat approach.
Soon, following the rout of the slave soldiers, the infantry and cavalry also began to collapse.
The army was defeated like a mountain collapsing. In just half an hour, the victor was decided.
Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong looked at each other in bewilderment. Was this still the battlefield they were familiar with?
They had thought that the appearance of firearms and artillery was already astonishing, but they never expected that the ships beneath their feet were the greatest weapons!