The Modao battalion has only 500 people, and it does not have much actual combat experience, and it is currently a semi-finished product.

Five hundred Mo swordsmen, plus more than four thousand ordinary soldiers, is all the power that Li Qinzai can use now.

Fortunately, he had no worries, Li Tao was forcibly taken away, Xiao Baga and the goddess doctor had to leave, and at this moment, in addition to some grain and grass in the camp, there were only these 5,000 soldiers and horses left.

Outside the camp, scouts kept coming and going.

After one scout team was killed, Li Qinzai sent several scout teams to report on the enemy's movements every few moments.

As the enemy's intelligence became more and more, Li Qinzai's mood became heavier and heavier.

This enemy army of 20,000 people was actually all cavalry, and the scouts came close to observe and reported that this cavalry was only wearing simple leather armor, and the weapons were also varied, and they were not uniform.

Judging by their hairstyles and skin colors, it seems that they are not Goguryeo, but more like herdsmen who have traveled south from the north, such as the Jin Ya tribe, the Su Mo tribe, the Murwei tribe, the Xi tribe, and so on.

Long before the Eastern Crusade, the Tang Dynasty had collected a lot of information on Goguryeo, including Goguryeo's possible allies.

Unfortunately, these northern tribes were all linked to Goguryeo, and when Li Tao led the main force to confront the Goguryeo army on the west bank of Liaoshui, the Goguryeo army had allies from various northern nomadic tribes.

Later, they attacked Xincheng and Liaodong City, and various tribes in the north participated, and they allied themselves with Goguryeo to resist the Tang army.

It was only later that the Tang army won several battles, and not only the Goguryeo army was crippled and scattered, but also the allied forces of the northern tribes were also crippled.

At that time, after Li Tao judged, he thought that the remaining remnants of the army were scattered and fled, and the pursuit would undoubtedly be time-consuming and laborious, and the fighters would be delayed, so he ordered the Tang army to withdraw.

Li Qinzai didn't expect that these tribes still had soldiers and horses, and they were complete formed cavalry.

The nomadic tribes have been good at fighting since ancient times, especially the cavalry, and the 5,000 soldiers under Li Qinzai's command had to face the cavalry of the 20,000 nomadic tribes.

It's going to be a tough battle.

"Leave the camp and march out, and line up in the northeast to meet the enemy." Li Qinzai ordered.

In fact, he could choose to retreat, but this option was ruled out by Li Qinzai.

Li Tao is still on the way to retreat, and if the 5,000 soldiers under Li Qinzai's command withdraw, it will undoubtedly bring huge trouble to Li Tao.

More importantly, the main force of the Tang army is heading towards the city of humiliation, and if it is caught up by 20,000 cavalry, Qi Bi He Li will inevitably fall into a desperate situation of flanking from the front and rear, and the battle of the Eastern Expedition may end in failure.

So Li Qinzai had to choose to fight the enemy head-on.

He and his 5,000 soldiers were a barrier to ensure the safety of Li Tao and the army of Qibi Holi.

This enemy army must stay here and not allow them to go one step further.

After counting the number of people, Li Qinzai called Liu Renyuan and Pei Zhengqing, two generals.

At a critical juncture, these two are the only ones who can use it easily.

20,000 enemy troops are coming, and how to resist the enemy is a big problem.

An ambush was not feasible, the Tang army was originally a large camp set up on the plains, and the surrounding terrain was a rare plain area in Goguryeo, which was not suitable for ambushes.

It is not possible to line up in a frontal formation, the firearms of the Tang army are no secret, and the defenders of Bo Fan City can make thicker shields, and this enemy army is also possible.

"How many mines are left in the rear of the battalion?" Li Qinzai asked.

Liu Ren said: "General Qibi has taken most of it, and now there are only a few hundred mines left in the camp. ”

Li Qinzai sighed, hundreds of mines seem to be a lot, but they are really not enough in front of thousands of troops.

"Lined up five miles to the northeast and planted all the mines before the enemy arrived."

Liu Ren was willing to take the order and go.

Li Qinzai looked at Pei Zhengqing with complicated eyes, and sighed: "General Pei, I'm going to use the Modao Battalion today." ”

Pei Zhengqing grinned: "The training has been going on for a long time, and the soldiers are anxious to fight." ”

Li Qinzai smiled bitterly, when the Modao Battalion was established in the Wa Kingdom, its original intention was to buy an insurance for the soldiers of the whole army, and at the critical juncture of life and death, the Modao Battalion was the last hole card.

Today is finally the time to use your hole cards.

But everyone knows very well that once the Modao Battalion is used, then the casualties of the Modao Battalion will inevitably be very heavy, five hundred against twenty thousand, this is life for life.

Pei Zhengqing smiled innocently, as if he didn't expect the fate that the Modao Battalion might face next.

Li Qinzai was silent for a moment and said in a low voice: "...... We can't let these 20,000 enemy troops pass. ”

Pei Zhengqing nodded: "The last general understands that the Modao battalion will fight to the death to protect the back of my main army." ”

Li Qinzai also smiled: "I will also fight to the death with you, and I will not retreat." ”

The situation is very serious, but fortunately, the soldiers under his command are loyal and brave people who can rest assured that they will be handed over their backs.

"The whole army leaves the camp and pulls out!"

…………

The sky is already slightly bright, and the east has seen the white belly of the fish.

Five thousand soldiers left the camp and marched five miles to the northeast.

Hundreds of soldiers had arrived ahead of schedule and were sweating like rain digging pits and laying mines.

Li Qinzai looked around and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Most of Goguryeo was mountainous, but he was taught to encounter this plain area.

The plain area is more suitable for the enemy's cavalry charge, but as the Tang army, which is mostly an infantry army, it can only choose to meet the enemy in a frontal formation.

The enemy came suddenly, and Li Qinzai had no time to find another battlefield, so he could only choose to fight on the plains in a hurry.

Li Qinzai always felt that he had been riddled with bad luck recently, otherwise he would not be so unlucky, and he would not have taken advantage of the right time, place and people.

After calculating the distance of the mines, Li Qinzai ordered 5,000 soldiers to line up 200 paces away from the mines.

The Modao battalion remained in the rear, and once the enemy broke through the phalanx in front, the Modao battalion was the last line of defense.

Scouts of Pegasus shuttled through the Tang Army's array, reporting on the enemy's recent movements.

There was a tense and solemn aura in the air, and as the enemy army got closer and closer, this tense and solemn aura became more and more intense.

"The herald ordered the whole army, in addition to firearms, also to prepare swords and halberds, if firearms are not available, use swords and halberds to kill the enemy, I hope that the soldiers have not lost the ability to kill the enemy with swords and halberds."

Half an hour later, Li Qinzai suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, and the scout Pegasus reported that 20,000 enemy troops had arrived, and the enemy's advance was less than three miles away.

Li Qinzai looked at Liu Renyuan: "I will leave the work of arranging the troops to you, and I will not interfere." ”

Liu Ren was willing to seriously clench his fists and take his life.

Soon, some sparse figures appeared at the end of the plain, and then there were more and more figures, and they became denser and denser.

Flags appeared in Li Qinzai's sight, embroidered with strange totems with teeth and claws.

Around the banner, there were all cavalrymen wearing simple leather armor and holding various weapons, which looked chaotic.

But Li Qinzai did not dare to underestimate this seemingly rabble cavalry, he knew very well that this enemy army was very fatal.

(End of chapter)