Chapter 50 Chapter Forty-eight

How did Gao Kangda attack Bi Ke Luoshou and defeat his army in La Lou? Gao Kangda is responsible for commanding the army.His father remained in the city, encouraging the soldiers with kind words and promising rewards to those who had done battle well.Gao Kangda led an army to the mouth of Vendée, and crossed the river in one go by using boats and temporary bridges.Afterwards, he looked at the terrain of the walled city and saw that the city was indeed condescending and had a favorable location, so he decided to wait until night before starting his actions.But Jim Nast said: "Your Majesty, the nature of the French is such that the head is the most powerful and fiercer than the devil, but when it stops, it is worse than a woman②. I suggest that the troops should rest for a while, and immediately after eating Order to attack."

Gao Kangda thought this plan was very good, and immediately transferred the army to the field and placed the reserve army on the other side of the hillside.The monk led six squadrons of infantry and two hundred cavalry, marching at a rapid pace, crossed the swamp, climbed up the high slope of Puyi, and reached Ludun Avenue. At this point, the attack has begun.Bi Keluoshou's army couldn't figure out whether it was better to come out to fight or stay in the city.But Picroceau rushed out with a detachment of cavalry in a rage, and was immediately met with shells that came like hail from the other side of the hill.In order to make the artillery team more effective, Gao Kangda has automatically withdrawn to the valley basin.

Although the people on the walled city tried their best to fight back, their shells all went over the opponent's head without hitting anything.Some of the enemy soldiers, dodging Gao Kangda's cannon, rushed towards this side viciously, but the effect was not great, because the people here were waiting in full force and knocked them all down to the ground.Seeing this situation, the enemy planned to retreat, but the monks had skillfully cut off their way, so the enemy could only run for their lives in a panic.Someone wanted to chase, but was stopped by the monk. He was afraid that chasing the deserters would mess up his formation, and let the people in the city attack him instead.The team waited for a while, and when no one met, the monk sent the Duke of Frontiste to report to Gao Kangda, asking him to march to occupy the hill on the left, and prevent Piccolo from escaping by this road.Gao Kangda immediately began to deploy, and sent four teams led by Sebastian ②, but before they reached the top of the mountain, they came face to face with Piccolo and the army who fled with him.So they immediately launched a fierce attack, but due to the volley of bows and artillery fire from the city, they suffered great losses.Seeing this situation, Gao Kangda hurriedly led the army to reinforce, and at the same time ordered the artillery to attack this part of the city vigorously, drawing all the enemy's forces in the city to this direction.

The monk saw that the number of soldiers guarding on the side he was attacking was significantly reduced, so he boldly rushed to the fort and climbed up the city with some soldiers, thinking that a surprise attack must be more frightening to the enemy than a frontal fight.But until all his men had scaled the walls--except for two hundred cavalry, whom he told to remain outside, just in case--he remained calm and undisturbed.Then, he and the soldiers he led suddenly shouted in unison, and all the enemy soldiers guarding the city gate were killed before they could resist.They opened the city gate, let the cavalry enter the city, and then marched straight to the east gate.At this time, the east gate was in full swing, and they came from behind, killing the enemy completely.The enemies in the city saw that they were surrounded on all sides, and Gao Kangda's troops had entered the city again, so they surrendered unconditionally to the monks.The monk told them to hand over all their guns and weapons, and then sent people to lock them up in the church, confiscated all the wooden sticks of the cross, and placed a guard at the door to prevent them from coming out.After that, he opened the east gate and went out to meet Gao Kangda.

① The mouth of Vendée, now called the mouth of Negron, is narrow and does not need boats at all. The author here deliberately exaggerates. ② Titus Levy made such an assertion in the twenty-eighth chapter of the tenth volume of "History of Rome". ① Frontiste: According to the Greek, it means: "cautious, wise". ② Sebastian, according to the Greek, means: "steady, solemn". Bi Keluoshou thought that the troops coming from the city were to reinforce him, so he redoubled his courage and ventured to attack until he heard Gao Kang shout: "Friar John, my friend, Brother John, you have come at just the right time."

Only then did Bi Keluoshou and his subordinates realize that the situation was over, so they had to run for their lives in all directions.Gao Kangda led his men and horses and chased them all the way until they reached the vicinity of Vogaudrei before calling for gold and withdrawing their troops.