Siege warfare with dimensional reduction

Just as the eastern and western sides were on the verge of collapsing, the linchong siege tower arrived at the city wall at the south gate.

Then, the thick wooden board on the top level crashed down, not only smashing the parapet but also creating a bridge between the linchong siege tower and the city wall.

As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Xia Luqi roared and was the first to charge down.

Wielding the pair of four-sided golden maces gifted to him by Gao Yuan, he began a frenzied slaughter.

Compared to a broadsword, which requires considering armor penetration, a blunt weapon like a mace is much more versatile.

Whether armored or unarmored, wearing leather or iron, a single strike from the mace would leave them dead or half-crippled.

Although Xia Luqi's strength isn't at the very peak, it is still A-rank, putting him among the tiny fraction of people at the tip of the pyramid.

In his hands, this blunt weapon displayed astonishing power, with incredible lethality.

In just a quarter of an hour, more than thirty enemy soldiers had died by his hand.

Such an existence struck terror into the toungoo people, and their last shred of courage vanished.

Clang...

Following the crisp sound of weapons hitting the ground, there was a series of thuds as soldiers knelt to beg for mercy.

Gao Yuan, who was overseeing the battle, felt his hands itching to join in, but unfortunately, Little Chili Pepper was by his side today.

With the city wall defenders routed, Xia Luqi did not pause for a moment and began fighting his way down the stairs towards the city ground.

On the narrow stairs, Xia Luqi, one of the Four Great Hundred-Slayers, properly demonstrated what it meant for one man to hold the pass against ten thousand.

Lashing out with his left hand and smashing with his right, he quickly fought his way to the foot of the city wall.

This fierce general finally stopped and roared,

"Hahaha, brothers, the city gate is right before us, follow me and charge!"

Just as Xia Luqi was charging toward the city gate, the city walls of the other two gates were also captured by the Qian Army.

Seeing that the situation was lost, the Toungoo defending general opened the north gate and fled with his trusted aides and a small number of Cavalry.

As for the garrison in the city and the beautiful concubines at home, he couldn't care about them at all.

In the end, as the first to ascend the wall, Xia Luqi was the first to pick out the two youngest and most beautiful women.

Seeing this simpleton's joyful expression, Mu Qing couldn't help but lean into Gao Yuan's ear and complain,

"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be askew. I heard that Bang Jie already has over a dozen foreign concubines at home, right?"

Gao Yuan certainly knew that the woman was indirectly implying that he, as the lord, hadn't set a good example.

He wasn't angry, but instead wore a brilliant smile,

"Hehe, that simpleton is naturally gifted; it's just right for him to sire more sons. Who knows, maybe another fierce general will be born!"

"Hmph, you always have a reason for everything."

The woman rolled her eyes at him and, pulling him along as they walked out, muttered,

"Stop looking, what's there to see? You'd be better off accompanying me for a walk!"

Gao Yuan naturally knew what the woman was worried about and said with a smile,

"They are all just crooked melons and cracked dates, short and dark-skinned; how could they compare to our Qingqing? I just wanted to see what kind of women these starving brutes would choose."

"Hmph!"

There isn't a woman who doesn't wish to be complimented, especially by her husband.

Having received Gao Yuan's high praise, the woman walked down the street with her head held high, as proud as a swan.

The situation at Kengtung was much the same; the siege ended after just one day.

In the two siege battles, a total of over two thousand heads were taken, over four thousand were captured, and the rest fled.

They seized a large amount of arrows and treasure, but the haul of grain, weapons, and armor was not significant.

It seems that although it was an important border town, the toungoo people didn't prepare to hold it for long.

Although they didn't capture much grain and fodder, because they were well-prepared and the battle ended quickly, consumption was low.

This left the army's reserves of grain and supplies quite abundant, allowing the main force to continue advancing.

According to the plan, Gao Yuan would lead an army west from Mawlamyine, following the mountain range to attack Mobi City, the northeastern barrier of Toungoo.

Meanwhile, Liu Rengui would lead the main force from Kengtung, splitting into two routes to rapidly occupy the four prefectures of Mone, Menggong, Xibo, and Mubang.

At the same time, they would build defensive lines in these places, preparing to face the Mughal Empire's attacks at any time.

For this, Gao Yuan directly ordered Huo Jun to stand by, ready to take over this defensive line at any time.

Although in later generations, that magical country of the Indians has always had terrible combat effectiveness.

But who knows in this timeline? Who knows if the Indians without motorcycles might become very terrifying?

Never underestimate your opponent at any time; this is what Gao Yuan constantly warned himself.

The rapid fall of Kengtung and Mawlamyine also served as a reminder to Bayinnaung—the Qian Army was still as fierce as ever.

He did not panic; he quickly decided to deploy troops to establish a defensive line at Mobi and Yonggui.

As for those provinces in the east, he didn't expect to hold them; he only hoped to delay them for a few more days.

To be able to buy two or three months of time for his main force to repel the Mughal army.

But then again, who told him his opponent was Gao Yuan.

Strike while the iron is hot, and never let up when you have the upper hand; this is the fine tradition that Gao Yuan has always maintained.

Knowing that his main force had now gone to Ava and he was spread too thin, Gao Yuan naturally charged and attacked all the way.

In Mobi, he had the infantry advance rapidly, one town after another.

Whenever reinforcements from the prefectural city dared to come out, he would personally lead the Cavalry to slaughter them.

Infantry on the march, even if they didn't have a disadvantageous terrain, could not withstand the charge of the Cavalry.

The defenders of Mobi would lose nearly a thousand men with every sortie, and soon they were beaten into hiding in the city, not daring to move.

Without the interference of the defenders, Gao Yuan could finally stretch his muscles.

The reinforcements mobilized by Bayinnaung had only just entered Mobi when they learned of the battle situation there.

Knowing that their few thousand men had no chance of winning, the main general, Mǐnlái, immediately thought of the King's instructions before they set out,

"You don't have to win, you don't even have to fight a single battle; I just need you to hold the Han people back for a month and a half."

Mǐnlái's tiger body trembled, and immediately sensing a threat, he ordered the march to stop.

Then they found a strategic pass and built a camp on the nearby hillside.

Mǐnlái's plan was good: guard the official road from a high vantage point, and as long as the Han people dared to pass, he could strike them in the middle.

Unfortunately, things went against his wishes. When Gao Yuan saw Mǐnlái's layout, he immediately sent men to survey the terrain.

When the Scout presented a topographical map, Gao Yuan couldn't help but laugh out loud,

"Hahaha, this is the Ma Su of this timeline!"

"Come, pass the order: leave one brigade of infantry to monitor Mobi City, bring all the rest to me, and surround this mountain."

Hearing that Mǐnlái's reinforcements were trapped on the mountain, the defenders of Mobi City wanted to rescue them but were powerless to do so.

They were truly terrified by Gao Yuan's Cavalry; if they went out again twice, they feared they wouldn't have enough troops to defend the city.

Meanwhile, Mǐnlái, seeing that the Qian Army below the mountain only surrounded them and dared not attack, couldn't help but feel smug.

Every day when he had nothing to do, he would take a group of deputy generals to stand on the camp walls and shout, hoping to provoke Gao Yuan into launching an attack.

Gao Yuan was not stupid; attacking the mountain was purely thankless, and the casualties would certainly not be small.

"These idiots are still there babbling and chirping; pass the order: have Zhao Meng take five hundred elite troops and block the water source on the mountain for me."

That's right, Mǐnlái had considered the terrain, considered waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, and their grain reserves were enough for half a year.

But he made the same mistake as Ma Su, ignoring the importance of the water source.

After a few days of reconnaissance, the Scout finally found the water source on the mountain.

Immediately, Gao Yuan dispatched elite troops to seize the location, cutting off the water supply on the mountain.

Just three days later, the shouting and cursing on the mountain began to sound weak and powerless; this was the inevitable result of water deprivation.