Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 550: The Burmese Expedition (Part )

When Wu Sangui heard that the water flow was sufficient and that he only needed to give the order to release the water to attack the camp, he felt uneasy, wondering whether his strategy of attacking with water would be effective.

Wu Sangui looked at the devastated battlefield, took a long breath, and said softly: "Man proposes, God disposes, let's see what God wills!"

Wu Sangui then ordered the entire army to load all the baggage onto carts and wait until the early morning of the 3rd lunar month before leaving the camp to avoid the flood.

The waiting time was the longest. After a day of fierce fighting, most of the soldiers of the Qian army were exhausted, but military orders were like mountains. The soldiers endured the fatigue and packed up their supplies.

In Mangbai's camp, the generals were busy reorganizing their armies and arranging guards to prevent the Qian army from attacking the camp at night. For a moment, no one noticed that the water level on the river bank had dropped a lot, and Mangbai had no idea that the Qian army would use water to attack.

After a long time of struggle, most of the soldiers in the Burmese army camp had fallen asleep. Time passed minute by minute, and by the hour of Yin, all the Burmese soldiers had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, in the Qian army camp, countless soldiers left the camp like flowing water.

In order not to alert the Burmese army along the way, they only dared to light a small number of torches. By the time of Mao, the sky was slightly bright and all the Qian troops had left the camp. Seeing this, Wu Sangui immediately ordered the digging of the dam and the release of water to flush the camp.

After giving the order, Wu Sangui stopped on a small slope, looked out from his vantage point, and observed the direction of the water flow.

As Wu Sangui's order was conveyed, after waiting for about half an hour, the Qian army upstream dug up the fortifications and released the long-accumulated water.

In an instant, the surging river water, like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, swiftly broke through the man-made obstructions and rushed downstream. The water level rose rapidly, and the water was so powerful that it flooded the riverbed in a very short time.

The river water ferociously swallowed up all obstacles, sweeping up mud, dead branches, and even small animals along the way, forming a devastating force that swept in at the turn of night and dawn.

The originally tranquil riverbed instantly turned into a beast-like state. The original camp of the Qian army was submerged by the river water in a short period of time. Wu Sangui's face changed when he saw this. Water and fire are merciless, which has been a famous saying since ancient times.

The strength of the water flow exceeded Sun Wenhuan's estimation. Sun Wenhuan thought that the water flow should only reach his knees, but from the looks of it, Wu Sangui thought that the water flow could at least reach his neck.

Outside the Burmese army camp, the sentry was listening in confusion to a strange sound coming from his ears. This sound was definitely not the sound of livestock running or the sound of an army charging.

However, the sentry's doubts did not last long. A moment later, when the flood reached the outskirts of the camp, the sentry was stunned at first, and then gave an urgent and sharp cry.

The warning was just sounded, and it was followed by desperate shouts. The soldiers in the camp were still asleep, and only a few were awakened by the sound.

Some soldiers had just gotten out of bed when the water rushed in violently. Tents, campfires, baggage, everything was submerged in the torrent in the blink of an eye. Many soldiers who were still asleep were either swept away by the rapids or awakened by the cold river water, and could only shout in panic.

The water level rose at an alarming speed and soon submerged the low-lying parts of the camp. Tents tilted and collapsed, war horses neighed in panic, and elephants shook off the appeasing elephant soldiers and ran in all directions, causing even greater chaos in the camp.

In the distance, Wu Sangui was still standing on the hill, watching all this happening intently. The worries in his heart gradually dissipated, replaced by the certainty of victory.

The water flow not only destroyed the enemy camp, but also washed away his doubts. Wu Sangui laughed until tears came out of his eyes.

The river continued to rush until it turned Mangbai's camp into a complete mess. The surviving Burmese soldiers were still in shock and fled in all directions.

The new Burmese king, Mangbai, was in a miserable state at this time. He was soaked all over. The autumn wind was blowing and made Mangbai tremble all over. If his personal guards had not risked their lives to save him, he would have no idea where he would have been washed away by the water.

The physical pain was only secondary. The psychological blow was the most severe for Mang Bai. With an army of nearly 100,000 and most of the country's food and supplies gathered here.

The army had just attacked the Qian army yesterday. Mang Bai thought that if they continued like this, it would only take more than ten days to completely destroy the army in front of them. However, he never expected that the huge changes overnight would cause everything he had to be washed away by the river water.

The flood came quickly and went away quickly. It was just up to the neck, but by daybreak it had receded to only up to the waist.

Wu Sangui's laughter echoed in the morning mist, it was the heroism of a victor. Not only Wu Sangui, but all the soldiers in the Qian army were excited. Everyone knew that the Burmese army was defeated and the war to conquer Burma would surely be a great victory.

Wu Sangui immediately reorganized the army and ordered Sun Wenhuan to select 5,000 elite soldiers. As soon as the river water dropped a little, he would take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Burmese army.

Mangbai and his army were in chaos and panic. A flood not only destroyed the food and soldiers, but most importantly, the Burmese army's structure had been completely dispersed. Soldiers did not know their generals, and generals did not know their soldiers. There was chaos everywhere, and the Burmese army's organization had completely collapsed.

Mangbai knew that this must be the work of the Qian army, so he shouted loudly and ordered the soldiers to pack up supplies and prepare to evacuate.

Wu Sangui naturally could not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At noon, when the sun was shining brightly, the water had already dropped to the knees. Wu Sangui gave an order and Sun Wenhuan led his elite subordinates who had been ready and attacked like a storm.

From Sun Wenhuan to the raiding soldiers, everyone in the Qian army had an excited look on their faces. Even though they had just fought a bloody battle yesterday and had not slept at night, everyone now rushed forward as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

The Burmese army was already at a loss due to the sudden disaster. In addition, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted, and the organization was in chaos. Faced with Sun Wenhuan's fierce offensive, they were almost unable to resist. The defeated Burmese soldiers ran frantically backwards. Countless Burmese soldiers abandoned their weapons, knelt in the cold water, and chose to surrender, hoping only to save their lives.

Sun Wenhuan was brave and cruel. He did not stop and continued to lead his men forward. However, Mang Bai had already lost his fighting spirit and, under the protection of his remaining guards, he desperately fled backwards.

Wu Sangui looked at all this and said with some emotion: "What a pity, there is water everywhere. Otherwise, with the bandits in such a state, we could have killed them with cavalry and they would have no chance to escape!"

However, Wu Sangui was very satisfied with this. With this great victory, there would be no more major wars in the expedition to Burma. He was already thinking about how to write a letter to report the victory to the emperor.

Faced with such a tragic situation, Mang Bai's spirit almost collapsed. The situation changed so drastically overnight. He watched helplessly as his dream was completely shattered at this moment. The pain in his heart reached its peak. If his personal guards had not held him back, he would have rushed to the river bank and jumped into the river to be done!