Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Looking at the raging fire ahead, the Allied Commander Elsinoald's face was grave, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.

Hearing the panicked voices of his soldiers, his mood grew heavier and heavier.

The armored lieutenant, spear in hand, ran over and said, "General Elsino, since we can't break through the valley entrance, let's quickly escape to the mountain peaks on either side."

How many people will survive depends entirely on fate!

Should they flee to the mountain peaks on either side?

No!

Regardless of whether they could climb the peaks on both sides, or whether Tang troops were lying in ambush, once he issued such an order, these more than 100,000 troops would become vagrants and scattered soldiers.

If we can't organize a defensive formation, won't we be chased and annihilated by the Tang army?

After all, once you leave the valley, you'll be on a plain. Ninety percent of his men are infantry, so how could they outrun the Tang army's cavalry?

Thinking about it for a long time.

Elsinoald ordered in a deep voice, "We will form ranks here and wait for the fire to be extinguished before charging out to fight the Tang army to the death!"

"If more monsters come down from the sky, everyone find somewhere to hide!"

Ugh!

Seeing that the commander had made a decision, the generals under his command sighed inwardly, and then bowed and went to organize the defensive formation.

An hour later.

Li Yifu led the bombers to the top of the valley. He looked at the densely packed people and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"A bunch of idiots, gathering in this narrow valley!"

"It's a pity there are only 200 hot air balloons this time. If all 1800 hot air balloons were gathered here, none of these people below would have been able to escape."

"It's still not quite there!"

After they reached the airspace above the dense crowd, they began to drop heavy bombs weighing tens of kilograms.

After two and a half years of fighting, their accuracy in throwing bombs became increasingly better, and they could even guess the detonation point of the bombs based on the strength of the wind.

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

As thousands of thunderbolts exploded below the valley, shockwaves crisscrossed in an instant, and fiery red mushroom clouds rose into the air.

The people below the valley were plunged into hell once again, frantically trying to escape.

As they fled towards the high mountains on both sides of the valley, they were ambushed and killed by Tang soldiers with powerful crossbows.

Having narrowly escaped the crossbow bolts, they were then riddled with holes by spears.

Over the next two hours, Li Yifu led his bombers in two rounds of bombing, only stopping when they could no longer see any living people below.

After the fire in the valley was extinguished, the Tang soldiers stationed on both sides of the valley began to harvest the crops.

The battle ended an hour later.

Du He, who had been watching the battle from the mountaintop, saw that the battle was over and then returned to his camp under the escort of his guards.

Night falls.

Duhe and his 2-strong army gathered on the banks of the Rhine, with 10 soldiers surrounding a bonfire where whole lambs, glistening with golden fat, were roasting.

Central military position.

Xue Rengui said with emotion, "King Han, in this battle alone, no fewer than 10 enemy soldiers died under the thunderbolts. When we rushed into the valley, there were hardly any living people left."

"Even if they weren't killed on the spot, the enemy soldiers were injured internally and had no ability to resist at all."

"We did not lose any soldiers in this battle, but many of the soldiers hiding on both sides of the mountain were bitten by poisonous insects, and the army doctors are treating them now."

Upon hearing Xue Rengui's report, Du He nodded slightly.

The enemy's mindset was still stuck on close combat. They originally wanted to secretly hide in this valley and ambush the Tang army.

Unfortunately, their every move had already been discovered by the bombardment troops who were scouting enemy positions in hot air balloons.

In the confined space, they were easy targets for the bombers.

Du He said softly, "We'll rest tomorrow. Once Cheng Yaojin's side finishes the battle, we'll immediately send troops to sweep through all the cities of the Merovingian Dynasty."

"It's already September, and in another month or two it will be the dead of winter. We need to finish this battle as soon as possible."

With the main force of the Merovingian dynasty crippled, the next step is to take over the major cities and eliminate the remaining resistance forces.

The generals all bowed and responded.

"Here!"

Instead of discussing business, the group enjoyed roasted lamb while admiring the beautiful scenery of the Rhine River.

The next day.

It's approaching noon.

A soldier came to report: "Reporting to King Han, Duke Lu has led his army to annihilate 10 enemy troops. In this battle, 85 people were killed and 599 were wounded. Among them, 15 bombers died due to improper operation during a rapid descent."

"Duke Lu said that the army should rest for two days before continuing the attack."

As he spoke, he handed the battle report in his hand to Du He.

Upon hearing that Cheng Yaojin's side had suffered heavy casualties, Du He opened the battle report and read it, understanding what had happened.

Cheng Yaojin engaged the enemy in a direct confrontation, and not on an open plain, but in a narrow hilly area, which completely prevented him from utilizing the advantages of cavalry.

After a long time.

Du He wrote a handwritten order and handed it to the soldiers, saying, "Let Cheng Yaojin and the others rest for a few days. I will lead the army tomorrow."

"Here!"

The soldiers received their orders and quickly left.

The next day.

Under Duhe's leadership, 2 cavalrymen began to advance. This time they encountered no obstacles, and the cities they passed by surrendered one after another.

In just three months, they occupied 90% of the Merovingian Empire's territory.

Meanwhile, other armies swept across various European countries, successively destroying the Lombard Kingdom, the Visigothic Kingdom, the Vandal Kingdom, the Avar Khanate, and numerous other large and small states in northern Europe.

Late December.

Rouen, on the west coast of the Merovingian Empire.

As the Tang army advanced rapidly, the Merovingian king and his nobles all hid in Rouen, their faces grim.

His former gentlemanly demeanor was gone, leaving only endless panic.

There was silence for a long time.

The King of Austrasia said helplessly, "We only have 1 soldiers left, which is not enough to withstand the Tang army's attack. Why don't we retreat to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms across the sea?"

"The Tang army doesn't have large ships, so they can't get there in a short time."

They had previously looked down on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms across the ocean, but now they had no choice but to flee there.

On the main seat.

Clovis II tapped the table lightly and asked, "After the Tang army destroyed Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate, will they lack large ships?"

"Besides, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms are just a few islands. If the Tang army lands, where can we escape to?"

There was a pause.

Clovis II pinched his brow and said, "Now, apart from the cities around Rouen, the Tang army has already destroyed other countries. The fragmented Anglo-Saxon kingdoms are doomed to perish sooner or later."

"Surrender."

"Perhaps surrendering to the Tang army would save my life."

When he said these words, it was as if all his strength had been drained away; he didn't even have the strength to lift a wine glass.