Chapter 370 The Fanatical Enemy

Gao Yuan hadn't truly come into contact with the nation of Aceh, and Liao Hua's understanding of it wasn't deep enough either; they both overlooked one issue: religion.

Because Aceh's occupation of the lands on the Malay Peninsula hadn't been long enough, the spread of religion had not yet reached a sufficient level of popularity.

However, the core Aceh army from Sumatra was different. These were fanatical believers in Islam who fought with a ferocity that could be described in four words: fearless of death.

At the end of October in the 23rd year of Daqian, the main forces of both armies met in Songkhla Prefecture. In this battle, Wen Pin and Liao Hua witnessed for the first time what was meant by "fanaticism."

These fanatical Acehnese completely ignored the massive casualties caused by their equipment disadvantage. When one fell, the next continued to roar and charge forward, one after another, shouting slogans with a momentum that chilled one's heart.

Let alone green recruits like Crown Prince Zhao Cheng, even veteran generals like Wen Pin and Liao Hua were somewhat stunned. They had never seen such a fanatical army, nor had they witnessed such fanatical combat conducted by such a fanatical force.

Due to insufficient preparation, the Beiwei Army and Xuanjia Army actually fell into an unprecedented state of passivity, their lines retreating step by step, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

At this moment, the Shenji Camp showed its might. Chen Dao led from the front, taking the Baier Soldiers forward courageously to stabilize the line, followed by ten cannons launching a bombardment from the flank against the enemy's rear.

"Boom... Boom..."

Ten shells landed amidst the formation of the fanatical Acehnese in the rear, instantly blasting open a clearing. The Acehnese, who had just been shouting religious slogans and pushing forward crazily, were instantly turned into severed limbs and blood mist.

The Acehnese were stunned. They were human too, and they had things they feared. Facing such a mysterious power they had never seen before, along with such miserable deaths, even these fanatical religious elements became afraid.

Seizing the moment of their daze, Wen Pin and Liao Hua immediately led their Personal Guards in a charge, coordinating with the Baier Soldiers to form three arrows that plunged fiercely into the enemy ranks.

Today, Crown Prince Zhao Cheng had pulled his bowstring so much it almost sparked. All ninety arrows in the three quivers he carried were shot empty. He had originally felt a bit of despair, but he hadn't expected the situation to turn around immediately after the Shenji Camp joined in.

As they say, young people have good recovery abilities. He shook his arms, which were sore and weak from constantly drawing the bow, took a short breath to recover some strength, and then pulled out the long spear stuck in the ground to join the battle.

The Acehnese never expected that just a moment's daze would completely snatch away their victory; a rout began.

In truth, from beginning to end, the Shenji Camp had only fired two rounds of cannons on the flank, launching twenty explosive shells. The total casualties caused were no more than a few hundred people, but it was this sudden lethality that turned the tide of the battle.

As the saying goes, "a defeat like a mountain collapsing" described the current situation. Once the line collapsed, the sporadic resistance of the infantry could only be a desperate struggle; the fanatical Acehnese soldiers fell one by one.

The battle lasted until dusk. Even though the line had collapsed, these pious religious soldiers still held on until dusk before retreating.

Afterward, they abandoned Songkhla, gathered their remnants, and retreated all the way to Pattani Prefecture, preparing to wait for reinforcements for a new round of resistance.

Although more than twenty thousand enemy troops were annihilated in this battle, the casualties of the Qian Army were also extremely heavy. The Xuanjia Army had over a thousand killed, over two thousand seriously injured, and over two thousand lightly injured. The casualties of the Beiwei Army and Baier Soldiers also reached over two thousand.

A Xuanjia Army division that Liao Hua had transferred from Annan Circuit suffered over fifty percent casualties and had basically lost its combat effectiveness. The army had to stop and wait for reinforcements.

Upon receiving the 800-li urgent dispatch sent by Wen Pin, Gao Yuan was also somewhat stunned. He hadn't expected to encounter that somewhat chilling religion here.

He had some understanding of the vitality of this religion and the fanaticism of its believers. In history, the Abbasid Caliphate had built a powerful army of believers that swept all the way east across the entire Mediterranean and Central Asia.

If Gao Xianzhi hadn't dealt a heavy blow to the Abbasid Caliphate in the Battle of Talas, their eastward expansion might not have stopped.

However...

After reading the battle report, Gao Yuan immediately made a decision. He would personally lead the First Division of the Beiwei Army under Li Siye to move south for reinforcements. He wanted to meet these fanatical religious elements.

Hearing that her son was in trouble, Zhao Xiyao was also anxious. She immediately issued a strict order, requiring the Ministry of War and all circuits to prepare the supplies needed by the army within five days.

In fact, there was no need for Zhao Xiyao to issue an order at all. As soon as Gao Yuan moved, the entire war machine of the Great Qian Dynasty had already begun to operate.

As a heavy equipment unit, to facilitate the movement of the First Division of the Beiwei Army, the Ministry of War gathered five hundred carriages pulled by Shire Horses to transport armor, and all soldiers also traveled by carriage.

As for grain and fodder, the Ministry of War ordered them to be transferred directly from the Zhongnan Circuit granaries to Ayutthaya and Bangkok. Along with them were two brigades of the Xuanjia Army mobilized from Zhongnan Circuit and Pugan Circuit.

Everything moved very quickly. In just over a month, Gao Yuan arrived in Songkhla with reinforcements, grain, and medicine.

On the other side, Ali Mughayat Syah also sent his heir, Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah, leading the entire three-thousand-strong elite Royal Guard of Aceh across the strait to enter the Malay Peninsula.

Seeing that the vast majority of the enemy country's army had crossed the strait, Gao Yuan immediately ordered a messenger pigeon to be sent, commanding the navy to attack, destroy the enemy's warships and transport ships, completely blockade the Strait of Malacca, and seize the Port of Malacca when the opportunity arose.

On December 10th of the 23rd year of Daqian, Prince of Tang of Great Qian, Gao Yuan, led the main force of thirty-seven thousand men to set out for the important peninsula stronghold, Pattani Port.

On the Aceh side, the Sultan's heir, Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah, led the most elite thirty thousand reinforcements, along with troops mobilized from various places, totaling more than eighty thousand men, to march out of the city and meet the challenge.

Outside the port was a vast, endless grassland. The armies of both sides stood on the grass facing each other. The Qian Army was silent, while on the Aceh side, people were constantly shouting some religious slogans.

Holding up his binoculars and looking at the flushed faces and burning eyes of those young people opposite him, Gao Yuan saw a thick fighting spirit in them and couldn't help but feel some emotion.

"It seems there was a reason why the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire were conquered."

After a moment of reflection, he turned to look at Wen Pin beside him.

"Zhongye, you will still be the one to command this battle."

"Your Highness, you..."

Gao Yuan glanced at his son in the distance, who was high in fighting spirit, and said with a smile.

"Today, I want to experience what it's like for a father and son to go to battle together. Zhongye, you wouldn't be unwilling to fulfill this small wish of mine, would you?"

As he spoke, Gao Yuan pointed to his lingbao bow. Seeing that he intended to perform long-range sniping with Crown Prince Zhao Cheng, Wen Pin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rest assured, Your Highness. This humble general will certainly not disappoint you."

"Good!"

Gao Yuan patted Wen Pin's shoulder, then stepped down from the command platform, mounted his horse, and headed toward the vanguard.

Soon he arrived beside Crown Prince Zhao Cheng. Surprisingly, the little fellow didn't recognize Gao Yuan on the spot but instead bowed respectfully along with his comrades.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Seeing him like this, Gao Yuan didn't take the initiative to reveal their relationship either, but instead nodded.

"I heard there is a divine archer in the Vanguard Brigade who killed nearly a hundred people in two battles. I assume that's you?"

Crown Prince Zhao Cheng admitted it openly.

"That's right!"

"Are you interested in competing with me today?"

"Why wouldn't I dare!"

"Hahaha, good, good! The youth are to be regarded with respect, indeed!"