Li Lu saw that Canaris was paralyzed, so he began to take the next step.In the course of frequent troop movements, Li Lu detected a place in the upper reaches of the Karasu River that was very conducive to the smuggling of his large troops.The place was less than thirty miles from his base camp.There, the Karasu River made a large bend, forming a peninsula-like corner, which was covered with trees suitable for the concealment of the troops, and there was an island in the river, also overgrown with trees, which was never inhabited, and very appropriately obscured the view of the sentries on the opposite bank.It was in such a place where he was chosen to be smuggled out, Li Lu did not forget to pour some misty soul soup on the enemy on the other side in advance, he asked the soldiers to light bonfires, shouted loudly, and worked for several nights in a row, secretly actively preparing to cross the river.Li Lu personally led 30,000 elite soldiers to prepare to smuggle across the Karasu River, and before leaving, he explained to the generals who stayed behind: "If Canaris only leads part of his army to attack us, and leaves the other part to defend the riverbank, especially when the troops on the cliff are not moving, then you should not move, if Canaris leads his main force to attack, and only a small number of troops defend the riverbank, then you can cross the river with all your strength." ”Li Lu also deployed several small troops on the front line from the base camp to the smuggling site, and they were also ordered to cross the river as soon as they saw that Canaris's troops were involved in the battle and could not get out.For Li Lu personally leading the troops to land, Xue Qinling, the commander of the Western Expedition, was quite reluctant, because Li Lu was an emperor after all, not a general, but Li Lu insisted on this, and he had no choice, all he could do was to try his best to ensure Li Lu's safety, and the troops he configured for Li Lu were all the most elite royal guards.Li Lu led 30,000 troops, marched hastily and kept a certain distance from the river bank, and unknowingly arrived at the crossing point thirty miles away.That night, dark clouds, lightning and thunder, torrential rain poured down, and the river roared.This is the best for Li Lu.Under the cover of God, Li Lu gathered all the troops crossing the river to the water's edge, and the clamor of weapons and the clamor of delivering orders was drowned out by the rumbling thunder and the roar of rain.The boats and rafts that had been prepared in advance had also been transported to the site and secretly hidden in the woods.At dawn, the rain has passed, and the wind and waves are calm.Li Lu gave an order, and the 30,000-strong army quickly boarded the wooden boats and leather notes, and quickly sailed straight to the small island in the river.Because of the dense wooded island, the sentinels of the Eastern Rome did not notice.However, when the British army bypassed the island, it was completely exposed, and the Karasu sentry found that the enemy was really coming, and immediately flew to report to Canaris.At this time, Li Lu was the first to disembark and land, and his cavalry also disembarked one after another, followed by the infantry, Li Lu lined up his troops and pushed forward in battle formation.There was an accident.The British had not gone far when they suddenly discovered that they had landed at the wrong place.If you look closely, this is not the west bank of the Karasu River, but just another larger island in the river.Due to the unfamiliar terrain and the size of the island, the British confused it with the west coast.Li Lu saw that his previous efforts were wasted, and secretly complained bitterly.If you can't complete the task of crossing the river and have to start all over again, it will take a lot of effort.The waterway between the island and the east coast is not wide.It was only a night of heavy rain that caused the river to swell, and it was not easy to find an ideal ferry.Li Lu estimated that Canaris had not yet concentrated his forces here, so he did not dare to delay, and hastily chose a place; And take the lead in rushing through the hardships and dangers.The shallowest part of the river here reached the chest of the infantry, and the horses could only put their heads out of the water, which should be said to be relatively reluctant.Fortunately, there were very few defenders on the other side, and seeing so many enemies rushing like wolves and tigers, their legs were weak, how could they have the courage to resist.Thus, the British finally succeeded in landing on the other side of the river.After the landing, Li Lu led the cavalry to advance at full speed, and ordered the cavalry to act as the vanguard immediately, and the infantry to follow at a rapid marching speed.Li Lu made three estimates and arrangements for the possible actions of Canaris: if Canaris fought a decisive battle with all his forces, he would crush him by means of a cavalry charge; If victory was difficult, he went on the defensive, waiting for reinforcements from the phalanx infantry: if Canaris fled in terror because of his daring crossing, he pursued closely and destroyed the enemy in a battle of movement.Besides, when Canaris received the news that the British army was crossing the river, he wondered whether this was a real main attack or a tentative feint; I can't figure out where Li Lu's main force is now.Lead the army to block it, for fear that the enemy on the other side of the river will take the opportunity to rush to the crossing; If you don't lead a large army to stop it, the enemy may cross the river from there.Canaris thought about it, but it was difficult to make up his mind, so he only sent his son Canaris Jr. to lead part of the main force to meet the battle.By the time Canaris Jr. arrived, all the British surprise forces had crossed the river.Li Lu's cavalry met Canalis the Younger on the march and immediately pounced.When the Eastern Romans saw that Li Lu personally led such a large cavalry force, and that Li Lu's cavalry was not in the form of a battle line, but a squadron after a squadron charging at them, they were really frightened and dizzy, and turned around and ran.In the early years, the Eastern Roman cavalry had studied under the British army of Li Lu, and now this is the student met the teacher, as a result, as soon as the two sides came into contact, the characteristics of the Eastern Romans were exposed, and the battle was without suspense, and the British cuirassiers won a complete victory, and the little Canaris was also killed.When Canaris heard the fleeing cavalry say that Li Lu himself had crossed the river with his main force, and that his son had been killed, he felt the irreparable loss caused by his indecision.Canaris was extremely sad and angry, and now he was determined to fight Li Lu no matter what.At this time, although Canaris also knew that a British army on the other side was preparing to cross the river, he no longer cared about it.He only left a small number of troops here, and then led the whole army to meet Li Lu's troops, and he wanted to fight to the death with Li Lu.Canaris reached a mud-free, flat, hard sandy area, where he brought his troops to a halt and set up a formation.The first line of battle turned out to be dozens of war elephants, each of which was about ten feet apart; The infantry stood behind the war elephants and formed a second line so that no enemy dared to rush at them.Of course, the cavalry could not, because the horses were startled at the sight of the elephant; The infantry was even worse, as if they rushed into the gap of the elephants, not only could the elephants turn and trample them, but they would also be attacked by the Eastern Roman infantry in the back.Seeing the elephant array sent by Canaris, Li Lu was stunned, when did the Eastern Roman army have such a thing as a war elephant?
He took a telescope and took a closer look, and when he saw that the nose protrusions of these war elephants were one on the top and one on the bottom, Li Lu finally understood that the war elephants sent by Canaris were all African elephants, not the Asian elephants he was familiar with......
As for why Canaris's Eastern Roman army had war elephants, Li Lu thinks it is easy to explain, first of all, the Eastern Romans used to have territories in Africa, and it was not difficult to get a few war elephants, plus the Axum Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire were allies, and they could also get war elephants from the Axumes.......