The mountain roads are not very long, and the winding ones add up to more than three miles and less than four miles. Coupled with the narrowness of the road, it can barely accommodate two riders to pass side by side. Therefore, when the vanguard company of the first battalion of the cavalry regiment of the fourth division approached the exit of the mountain road, the guard unit directly under the middle route army and the first company of the second regiment of the fourth division had just entered the mountain road under the leadership of Xu Shaoan, while the second company of the first battalion and the second company behind it had just begun to enter the mountain road. Just when Xu Shao'an was a little anxious and ordered the herald to rush to the front to inform the cavalry battalion to speed up and rush to the back to inform the other troops to follow him, he saw a chirping arrow rising into the air on the hill on the left, and a sharp howl resounded throughout the valley.

"There's an ambush!" , this is Xu Shaoan's first reaction after hearing Ming Di. However, before he could order the troops to quickly withdraw from the mountain road, there was a roar behind him, and countless boulders and trees fell from the top of the mountain, blocking the entrance to the mountain road tightly. More than a dozen soldiers of the "Flying Dragon Army" who had not been able to dodge were also buried underneath, obviously with no chance of survival.

Almost as soon as the retreat was blocked, there was a faint rumbling sound at the exit of the mountain road, indicating that something similar to the entrance was likely taking place there. As the entrance and exit of the mountain road were sealed, there were also bursts of bangzi sound on the mountain, and countless arrows, rolling wood, and stones fell from the sky, hitting the Zhou army who could not advance or retreat in the mountain road like raindrops. In just a few breaths, nearly 200 people were either killed or wounded - thanks to the fact that the Zhou army had perfect armor protection, ordinary arrows would not cause serious damage to them, otherwise, their casualties would have been much greater.

Rao is like this, the "Flying Dragon Army" suffered nearly 200 casualties in an instant, which is an extremely rare situation since the establishment of the Beiping Army, especially in a single battle, such casualties are even more unique. It must be known that although the total number of casualties of the "Flying Dragon Army" in large-scale operations such as the Battle of Youyun and Operation Overlord was larger than this number, it was the sum of several or dozens of battles that lasted for many days and fought against tens of thousands or even more enemy troops. As for the last battle to pacify Jinghu, the total loss of the "Flying Dragon Army" was only more than 100 people, and this was still the statistics after nearly a year of fighting to hunt down Zhou Baoquan and Wang Duan and quell the local rebellion.

Such a large casualty made Xu Shaoan feel heartache and self-blame at the same time. After all, if he hadn't been stubborn and rash of the enemy, but had fought according to the usual tactics of the Beiping Army, or heeded Xing Zhengnan's persuasion and carried out the necessary reconnaissance and control step by step, the opponent's ambush would not have succeeded, and his own losses would not have appeared. However, there is no "regret medicine" to sell in this world, and in the face of an unfavorable situation, it is more necessary for the commander to be calm and composed. Therefore, after stabilizing his mind as quickly as possible, Xu Shaoan immediately ordered the herald to blow the military horn, ordered all the departments that had entered the mountain road to defend on the spot, and ordered the men and horses who had not entered the mountain road to immediately attack the enemy troops on the mountain, so as to help the besieged troops quickly get out of trouble.

After all, the "Flying Dragon Army" is the elite of the Beiping Army and the most powerful soldiers and horses in the world, from the general to the soldiers, they are not only well-equipped, but also well-trained. Although the sudden ambush caused some confusion, the soldiers did not panic in their hearts, let alone panic. After hearing the sound of the herald's trumpet, they quickly stabilized, quickly chose a vantage point to conceal themselves under the command of their respective commanders, and returned fire on the enemy troops on the hill in accordance with the requirements of the regulations and drill rules and in accordance with the tactical tactics of peacetime training. Among them, the mortar uses the characteristics of the weapon in his hand to quickly select the appropriate firing position, and launches 60mm or 82mm** into the hill at a nearly vertical angle, killing and injuring the enemy, effectively weakening the enemy's attack momentum and reducing their own casualties.

At the same time, under the command of Xing Zhengnan, the chief of staff of the headquarters of the Central Route Army, and the commander of the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division, the Zhou army, which had not yet entered the mountain road, sent the troops of the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division that had not yet entered the mountain road to attack the hills on both sides of the mountain road in two ways, and on the other hand, organized all the personnel at hand to remove the boulders, big trees and other obstacles blocking the entrance of the mountain road, so as to open up the retreat of the trapped friendly troops. At the same time, the two regiments of the security forces were also lined up on the spot to prevent possible sneak attacks and attacks by the enemy. And several fast horses flew to the north as if galloping, and hurriedly dispatched the follow-up group to come to support.

Although the Zhou army reacted quickly, since the enemy army chose this place as the battlefield for ambush, it was obviously deliberate. As an east-west mountain area, whether it is Yaji Mountain in the west or Guniu Mountain in the east, its mountain shape is steep in the north and gentle in the south. The mountain on the side facing the entrance is much steeper than the exit side, and it is quite difficult to climb, and it is not easy to climb the mountain from this direction. Coupled with the stubborn resistance of the enemy's blocking troops in this direction, the attacks of the 4th Division and the 2nd Regiment were frustrated one after another, and the two sides fell into a stalemate for a while.

Seeing that the attack was blocked, and the friendly troops in the mountain road, especially the eighth uncle Xu Shao'an, were in such a dangerous situation, Xing Zhengnan outside the mountain road couldn't help but feel anxious. After careful consideration and careful weighing, and after exchanging views with the chief of staff of the Central Route Army Headquarters, the commander of the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division, and the deputy commander, Xing Zhengnan finally decided to let go of his hands and feet, and at the risk of accidentally injuring the friendly troops trapped in the mountain road, he concentrated all the artillery he could concentrate and carried out a continuous and fierce bombardment of the hills on both sides of the mountain road. At the same time as the artillery bombardment, the 4th Division and the 2nd Regiment moved along the mountain to the east and west, looking for a place with a gentle slope suitable for climbing up the mountain, and completely annihilating the enemy troops on the mountain.

The reason why Xing Zhengnan was asked to make this decision and give this order, instead of being ordered by the chief of staff of the Central Route Army Command or the commander of the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division, who had a higher rank and rank than him, was mainly because Xu Shaoan was also trapped in the mountain road. As the commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army and a decisive position among the "Qingyuan" brothers, Xu Baye's responsibility for being accidentally injured or even killed by Party B's artillery fire is by no means something that a colonel-level officer such as the chief of staff of the Central Route Army Headquarters and the commander of the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division can bear-- the death of the commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army from an ambush and a sneak attack by the enemy and his accidental injury from his own artillery fire are two completely different concepts. The responsibility for the former lies with Xu Shao'an's own reckless advance, while the latter is the commander who needs to order a large-scale artillery bombardment. In a sense, in the current situation, only Xing Zhengnan, the righteous son of Wang Kunjun and the righteous nephew of Xu Shaoan, is qualified and courageous to make such a decision and bear the possible consequences. After all, once Xu Shaoan is accidentally injured, others will definitely lose his head if he orders the shelling, but Xing Zhengnan will probably save his life if he orders the shelling.

Of course, Xing Zhengnan's determination is not because he is Wang Kunjun's righteous son and has no fear, but because of repeated trade-offs. On the one hand, the dangerous situation in the mountain road does not allow him to think too much, and if the time drags on for a little more, the comrades-in-arms inside will be more dangerous and more loss. On the other hand, he was also full of confidence in his eighth uncle's personal guard platoon and the guard unit directly under the command of the Central Route Army, believing that these warriors who were willing to go to the trouble for the eighth uncle would never allow the life of their leader to be threatened. Even if a cannonball falls on the mountain road, they will protect Uncle Ba thoroughly.

So, after a short period of preparation, the artillery group of the 75mm field artillery company of the artillery battalion of the 2nd Regiment, which had already caught up, gathered more than 100 guns of various calibers, and with Xing Zhengnan's order, they roared almost at the same time, and sent rows of shells up the hills on both sides of the road without hesitation. For a time, the Yaji Mountain and Guniu Mountain were filled with gunsmoke and flames, and the sound of huge explosions echoed repeatedly in the mountains, endlessly.

The shelling lasted nearly half an hour, and nearly 2,000 shells swept the hills on both sides of the road like a plough twice. The shouts of the enemy troops on the hill, the sound of bows and crossbows breaking through the air, and the rumble of boulders rolling down became more and more sparse, and the sound of the trumpets of the heralds asking for support in the mountain road gradually eased, and was no longer as rapid as when they were attacked. Just when the artillery shells carried by the forward group were about to be used with chimes and Xing Zhengnan were about to send people to urge the follow-up groups to come with reinforcements quickly, the sound of loud military trumpets sounded almost simultaneously on the hills on both sides of the mountain road -- the soldiers of the 4th Division and the 2nd Regiment had already occupied the hill and the threat was lifted.