Decisive Battle Guessing Industry Peng

In the Toungoo camp, Bayinnaung felt immense heartache. These elite troops were his core forces and the foundation of his authority.

Now, having lost over a tenth of them in a single battle, how could he not feel pained? His resentment toward Gao Yuan grew even deeper.

The sunk costs were so high that he had completely lost any possibility of turning back.

Such brutal fighting continued for ten full days, with both sides suffering heavy casualties inside and outside the city.

Of the three divisions of the Xuanjia Army, only one remained. The First Division had suffered over a thousand casualties, and even Gao Yuan's Personal Guards had lost more than fifty men.

The Toungoo army outside the city suffered even more severely; the auxiliary troops had basically lost all combat effectiveness.

Half of the forty thousand core troops were also lost, forcing Bayinnaung to contract his battle lines.

He resorted to feigned attacks on the west and north gates, focusing all his efforts on the east and south gates.

Not until Liu Rengui's army appeared near the city did Bayinnaung have to admit that there was no hope left for this battle.

How could his exhausted force of over twenty thousand men deal with that mysterious and formidable army behind them?

Watching the crumbling city of Phetchabun, Bayinnaung was filled with unwillingness.

"Give me another twenty thousand men, and in two more days, I will be able to take this city and capture Gao Yuan alive."

It was as if his thoughts had manifested; just as he was murmuring this, a large batch of military supplies arrived from the country.

Along with them came fifteen thousand reinforcements dispatched by Maha Thihathura after receiving the report.

This was like a gambler who had lost everything suddenly borrowing a large sum of money; he was bound to go all-in.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow everyone will eat and drink their fill. Attack from all four sides for me; I want to take Phetchabun in one fell swoop."

Twenty days after the war began, Gao Yuan faced the most frantic attack yet from the toungoo people.

Forty thousand men charged toward the city from all four directions.

"Ma Song!"

"This humble general is here."

"Go and pull up all the reserves. The enemy is going all-in, so there is no need for us to hold anything back. Have all the civilians gather at the military supply warehouse. If something happens, take your men and cover their breakout."

"Understood!"

It was not that Gao Yuan didn't want to keep reserves, but rather that there were too few defenders left in the city.

Even counting all the lightly wounded, there were not even four thousand men, meaning only eight or nine hundred per side.

Arrows had long since been used up, and many crossbows had broken from overuse.

Many suits of armor were too damaged to be used, so the soldiers simply discarded these burdens.

Any house in the city that could be dismantled had already been torn down and used as defensive supplies.

The firewood was gone, and there was no more boiling excrement or boiling water; now, there was only flesh and blood left.

The battle quickly entered a white-hot state, with people constantly falling while screaming in agony.

Gao Yuan's spear was completely covered in blood, making it so slippery that he could barely hold onto it.

Even though his ability was constantly restoring his stamina, Gao Yuan felt that he had already exhausted most of his strength.

"The south gate is breached! The south gate is breached!"

Someone shouted this, and Gao Yuan couldn't help but turn his head toward the south.

In that momentary distraction, a blade struck his shoulder. His sleeve armor was already damaged, and this strike cut through his skin and flesh.

"Ah!"

Gao Yuan's hand loosened, and his spear nearly fell to the ground.

"Protect the Commandery Duke!"

Seeing this, the Personal Guards were furious and rushed up, shielding Gao Yuan behind them.

Gao Yuan caught his breath and pulled someone over, ordering, "Go and check the situation at the south gate. Remember, do not make a scene; you must not affect the army's morale."

"Understood!"

Having recovered some strength, Gao Yuan gripped his spear and threw himself back into the battle. At this moment, his ferocity had been completely ignited.

Ignoring the exhaustion of his stamina and the pain of his wounds, he wielded a spear in one hand and a horizontal blade in the other, like a god of slaughter.

His frantic appearance made the toungoo people somewhat afraid, and many could not help but retreat, wanting to avoid Gao Yuan.

As the saying goes, warfare is a matter of morale!

Once the toungoo people's morale weakened, the defenders immediately gained the upper hand and stabilized the teetering situation.

At this moment, the person Gao Yuan had just sent out returned: "Commandery Duke, the parapet at the south gate has been occupied, and the enemy is attacking, attempting to open the gate."

"Take ten men and follow me to reinforce the south gate. We must retake the parapet."

"Commandery Duke, your wound..."

"I won't die from it!"

The situation at the south gate was not optimistic; the remaining hundred or so defenders were fighting to the death at the gate.

The other two gates had no energy to spare troops for reinforcements; they could only rely on themselves.

On the way, Gao Yuan stuffed a few mouthfuls of food into his mouth and drank some water, which counted as replenishing some nutrition.

Seeing this scene, he dismounted and threw himself into the battle.

There were only two narrow staircases leading down from the parapet, which prevented the toungoo people from utilizing their numerical advantage.

Gao Yuan, as the spearhead, began to unleash his might, killing his way up the stairs.

Each step was like a position that required repeated charges and fighting to contest.

Outside the city, Xia Luqi watched the slaughter on the parapet from afar, burning with anxiety: "Commander, are you not going to send troops yet? It is now at a critical juncture."

Liu Rengui frowned tightly but still decisively shook his head to refuse: "It is not yet time. Look, thirty percent of the enemy troops have not been committed yet."

Liu Rengui was still holding back; he wanted to wait for the most opportune moment to deal the toungoo people a fatal blow.

However, he couldn't hold back for long. A Scout returned, panting: "Re... Report to the Commander, the Com... Commandery Duke is also inside the city!"

This news shocked everyone. If Gao Yuan were to suffer any harm, then even if they completely annihilated this group of enemy troops, it would all be in vain.

Before Xia Luqi could speak, Liu Rengui issued the order: "All troops, attack! Assault the enemy forces in the direction of the south gate."

Bayinnaung had guessed that Liu Rengui would launch an attack, so he had gritted his teeth and kept a certain number of men in reserve.

One side wanted to protect their comrades' rear and the fruits of the impending victory.

The other side wanted to save their lord, making retreat impossible, so the battle became white-hot as soon as it began.

This encounter lasted for half an hour, and in the end, Xia Luqi and the Beiwei Army held the advantage in strength.

Watching the routed enemy troops, Liu Rengui shouted: "Do not pursue! Do not pursue! Attack the enemy forces besieging the city to relieve the pressure on the defenders."

On the parapet, fewer than fifty men remained by Gao Yuan's side. His mind was already thinking about what would happen after his death.

"Zhao Xiyao, Zheng Wan, Song Yao, Mu Qing, they will probably grieve for me. I don't know if the two children are boys or girls; it would be nice if they were little girls. Will I transmigrate again? What kind of world will it be next time?"

Suddenly, someone discovered a change with pleasant surprise: "Commandery Duke, no more enemy troops are climbing up."

Then came a joyful shout: "It is the Second Division and the Third Division! It is General Xia!"

Hearing this cry, everyone's morale was instantly boosted, and they began to counterattack the enemy troops on the parapet.

At this time, everyone was at the end of their rope; as morale rose on this side, it fell on the other.

The final decisive battle had begun.

The south gate was cleared first, and Gao Yuan ordered the gate to be opened to let the reinforcements into the city.

He did not stop himself, leading his men to start reinforcing nearby.

Bayinnaung stared blankly at the battlefield not far away, his face gloomy, saying nothing.

He knew he had lost, defeated completely. His army was gone, his capital was gone.

His position as heir seemed to be gone as well, and even the lands he had just seized would be impossible to hold because his army was gone.

"Your Highness, the situation is lost. Let us leave quickly."

"Leave? Go where? Go back to be punished by the King? Or wait for someone else to ascend the throne and become a waste living under someone else's breath?"

"We still have thousands of troops. Phitsanulok and Phetchabun still have five thousand soldiers; this is the capital for our comeback."

Bayinnaung took one last look at the city in the distance, stained red with blood, and gritted his teeth: "Order a retreat. Save as many as can run!"