amaotonovel Chapter 1140 Occupying the Castle
Chapter 1140 Occupying the Castle
Chapter 1140 Occupying the Castle
Zhu Di weighed the pros and cons again and again, and finally the prudent idea prevailed. They had already occupied the tower of the castle and had already contacted the large group of troops in the rear. As long as they defended the tower until tomorrow morning, victory would be in their pocket.
Taking the initiative to attack might allow them to seize the granary, but it might also expose their weakness. Although Sigismund was dead, he was still the commander of the Crusaders and had appeal after all.
Even a large number of ants can kill an elephant, not to mention that the Ming army was still at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. If the Ming army was too careless and accidentally overturned because of underestimating the enemy, then the duck in the hand of Beldraig Fort might not fly away.
But if Zhang Yu could successfully obtain the head of the Crusader commander...
Just as I was thinking this, there was suddenly a commotion outside.
Zhu Di's first reaction was that the Crusaders' offensive had resumed. Xu Zengshou, who had just sat down for a short time, was also startled and stood up with his weapon in hand. The two of them walked out of the tower on the city wall with their men, and saw that there was indeed a commotion among the Crusaders, and a crowd of people was surging.
However, this crowd did not come towards them, but rushed away in all directions without any order.
"This...what is going on?" Xu Zengshou was confused.
"It must be that Shimei has made some gains!" Zhu Di said excitedly. He made a quick decision. Although he was still thinking about playing it safe the moment before, he had already made a prompt decision at this moment.
"Leave a hundred people to guard the city gate, and the rest of you, follow me to fight and disperse the enemy!" Zhu Di said.
The enemy's formation was in disarray, and the morale of the Crusaders at this time was no longer enough to support their strategy of feigning defeat to lure the enemy. Even if it was a feigned defeat, with such low morale, it would only turn into a real defeat.
At this time, we can fight for food and supplies!
The Ming army rushed towards the Crusaders like a tiger out of a cage or a tiger into a flock of sheep. The Crusaders did not resist at all, and most of them even dropped their weapons and fled in all directions with strange cries. Their will to resist was so weak that it was far beyond Zhu Di's estimation.
The scene was so chaotic that Zhu Di could not judge the situation. He simply ordered people to capture a few Crusaders and then pulled in the Seljuq guard who had been a spy and asked him, "You can ask carefully."
"What are these Western barbarians talking about?"
The Seljuq guard had a few words with the captive Crusader, and then reported back to Zhu Di: "Your Highness, this person said that there were escapes in the castle. The nobles of the Crusades have abandoned the city and fled from the north gate. Even the knights who supervised them have all fled."
"So, they are not willing to continue fighting. They just want to escape from here and return to Europe to live their own lives."
"All escaped?" Zhu Di frowned, thought for a moment, and then ordered: "Teach these people to shout in their own language that those who are willing to surrender will not be killed by the Ming army. Teach them to drop their weapons, kneel on the ground, and raise their hands high."
He turned around and gave the order: "Zengshou, take your men and control the Western Barbarians who are willing to surrender."
"The rest of you, follow me and drive out all these Western barbarians who are unwilling to surrender!"
"Zhang Fu, take one hundred of your men with you and do not get entangled with the Western barbarians who are kneeling and surrendering. Go back to the granary and make sure the grain is not taken away by the Western barbarians who are fleeing."
Zhang Fu, Xu Zengshou and others responded immediately, and they also understood that this was a godsend opportunity for the Ming army. Zhu Di's purpose was also very clear. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of the Crusaders losing their command and low morale to drive the Crusaders out, seize their military supplies, and occupy the castle in a key strategic location.
As for the nobles who fled out of the city... Zhu Di was not very interested in them. Killing the great European noble Sigismund was enough to further spread the reputation of the Ming army.
As for the other insects, they can just run away if they want to. Sending people to chase them is just a waste of manpower.
The Crusaders who stayed here to fight against the Ming army were mostly low-ranking mercenaries, auxiliaries, and even attendants among the Crusaders. These people already had low morale, and now that the noble lords and knights had all run away, they had no reason to continue fighting.
Therefore, wherever Zhu Di's banner went, the Western soldiers almost surrendered, and a large number of them knelt in every corner of the castle. Even if there were some guys who occasionally resisted stubbornly, they could not stop their companions who were fleeing like an avalanche and the assault of the elite Ming army.
When they rushed to the granary in the center of the castle, Zhu Di saw Zhang Yu fighting bloody battles in front of the granary. There was also a rare group of European knights in full armor in front of the granary. Under the command of several remaining nobles, they were fighting fiercely with Zhang Yu's troops. Seeing Zhu Di and Zhang Fu coming, the noble was afraid of being surrounded by the Ming army and immediately forced to retreat to the corner of the street. Zhang Yu seized the opportunity and bit this last tough bone tightly. Together with Zhu Di, he completely wiped out this army of serious knights.
Only after he cut off the head of the leading noble and joined forces with Zhang Yu did Zhu Di wipe the blood off his face and asked Zhang Yu who came to his side: "Shimei, why are you here in the granary?"
"Didn't I teach you to kill that John?"
"Your Highness, I must apologize to you. I was incompetent and let the bandit leader escape." Zhang Yu said in hatred. "The bandit leader was very slippery. When I and my brothers arrived at the fort in the middle, the bandit leader's flag was no longer in the fort."
"Many nobles among the bandits also fled with the bandit leader. There was chaos all around. I tried my best to chase them, but I couldn't catch up."
"We have no choice but to settle for the next best thing and try to keep the granary first..."
Zhu Di understood that John must have been frightened by the sudden appearance of the Ming army, and when he learned that the stables were burned down, he did not care about the horses and hurriedly retreated with the other nobles. They could not care about the many soldiers in the city, and they might have deliberately stayed behind to cover their retreat.
Although Zhang Yu was brave, he was outnumbered after all. In that situation, he did not rashly continue the pursuit, but chose to preserve the granary first. This was a very correct decision.
Zhu Di patted Zhang Yu on the shoulder and said, "Shimei, you acted decisively, not only are you innocent, but you have also done a great deed."
He then ordered Zhang Fu to take over the defense of the granary, while he and Zhang Yu continued to disperse the Crusaders who were fleeing in the castle.
By the time daybreak came, the few hundred Ming troops had completely taken control of the Beldraig Castle. About two-thirds of the Crusaders had escaped from the castle, including the vast majority of the Crusaders' nobles and high-ranking officials.
Only one third of the Crusaders remained in the castle, but their numbers were still several times greater than the Ming army. When Yao Guangxiao, Mahamu and others, along with the Ming army in the rear, hurried to Beldraig Castle, they were shocked to see that the battle had ended and that the castle was still full of Crusaders kneeling on the ground with their hands and feet tied, and they almost dropped their jaws.
(End of this chapter)