"Drive! Drive! Drive..."
"Urgent report from Mozhou, move away the anti-horse guns quickly!!"
At noon on August 18, when a fast horse arrived south of Zhending City south of the Hutuo River, the camp outside the city that stretched for more than ten miles also raised its anti-horse guns, allowing it to pass unimpeded.
Zhang Bao on horseback pretended to be anxious and rode his horse through several miles of camps and rushed into Zhending City.
Not long after, he arrived in front of Zhending Yamen, got off his horse, and rushed into the Yamen in embarrassment.
"Urgent report from Mozhou!"
Worried that someone would stop him, he rushed into the yamen while shouting. It was not until he arrived in the middle hall that he saw Geng Bingwen, Ning Zhong, Wu Jie, Li Jian and others who were discussing matters.
"General!"
After Zhang Bao rushed into the central hall, he knelt on the ground and burst into tears.
"Zhang Bao? If you're not guarding the city in Mozhou, why are you here in Zhending?"
After all, Geng Bingwen was getting older and his thinking was not as quick as when he was young, so he asked this extra question.
"General, the main force of the Yan army went south. There were 40,000 people. They captured Xiong County, and then went south to surround and annihilate Pingdu Governor Qian Shi, Yang Song, Pan Zhong and others' 9,000 fine cavalry."
"I didn't receive the news, and I was caught off guard when the Yan army marched south. There were guests from the Yan army in the city and soldiers who surrendered to Yan opened the city gate."
"Although the general commanded the Mozhou garrison to defend against the enemy, the garrison was outnumbered. In the end, the city of Mozhou was defeated. The general had no choice but to leave the city via the waterway, find a post station and come quickly."
"On the way to the final general, the main force of the Yan army seems to be preparing to leave the city, and is heading towards Zhending..."
Zhang Bao burst into tears. Facing his words, Prince Consort Li Jian frowned and said: "Impossible. Mozhou is three hundred miles away from Zhending. Moreover, Xu Kai is stationed dozens of miles south of Mozhou. Even if the Yan army goes south, , it should be to attack Xu Kai, why would you sacrifice the near for the far?"
As soon as Li Jian spoke, Wu Jie next to him also nodded in agreement: "The army went south alone and cut off the retreat to our army. This is obviously a taboo for military strategists. The common people of Yan have always known soldiers, how could they make such a mistake?"
"When did you set off?" Ning Zhong was not as confident as Wu Jie and Li Jian, but first asked Zhang Bao about his departure time.
"Yesterday at Mao Shi the city was broken, and at Chen Shi it came southward via the waterway, without rest day and night." Zhang Bao answered truthfully.
"That is to say, it is a full day and a half." Ning Zhong nodded when he heard this, then looked at Geng Bingwen, bowed and said:
"Marquis Changxing, if the Yan army really broke through the city and moved south early yesterday morning, we should soon receive news of the siege in Hejian."
"As long as there is no news of Hejian being surrounded before dusk, it means that the Yan people really have no intention of attacking Hejian."
Ning Zhong is different from Wu Jie, Li Jian and others. His father, Ning Zheng, the founding hero of the People's Republic of China, did not die of illness due to overwork until the 29th year of Hongwu. Therefore, during his more than thirty years of life, Ning Zheng continued to teach him Therefore, among the second-generation martial arts generals, he is also one of the few generals who can train a military commander alone.
During this northern expedition, Ning Zhong studied marching and fighting with Geng Bingwen for several months, so when faced with the real battlefield, he was able to calm down and analyze.
His ideas coincided with Geng Bingwen's, but they lacked practical actions.
In front of everyone, Geng Bingwen spoke slowly: "Currently, our army has 150,000 troops in Zhending City. There are also Xu Kai's 5,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry in the river. There are also 20,000 soldiers scattered in other places. .”
"Five days ago, I had sent 60,000 troops to cross the Hutuo River and stationed camps in the northeast of the Hutuo River. Their troops can smoothly support my army's northward crossing."
"Before dusk today, if there is no urgent military information from Hejian, we will arrange for 70,000 troops to cross the river and 20,000 to stay in Zhending City."
After saying that, Geng Bingwen looked at everyone: "Marquis Anlu is now heading to Hebei to take charge of an army of 50,000 people, waiting for the evening to meet our army."
"The last general takes command!"
Wu Jiejie bowed his head, and Geng Bingwen looked at Ning Zhong again: "Be prepared to arrange for the army to cross the river and build the camp overnight."
"Yes!" Ning Zhong agreed, and Geng Bingwen looked at Zhang Bao: "You go down and rest first. You are not to blame for the loss of Mozhou."
"I am so ashamed..." Zhang Bao lowered his head and retreated. Geng Bingwen looked at Prince Consort Li Jian again: "Please ask Commander Li to send Tangqi to Hejian to determine whether Hejian is besieged."
"Yes!" Li Jian responded, and then the three generals exited the Yamen.
Watching them leave, Geng Bingwen didn't believe that Zhu Di dared to go on an expedition, leaving his flank and rear to Xu Kai to attack his own army that was four times his size.
But because he didn't believe it, he fell into Zhu Di's trap...
"kill!!"
While he didn't believe it, Zhu Di had already traveled two days and one night from Mozhou to Wuji County, which was less than a hundred miles away from Zhending.
The cry of killing rang out in a wilderness, and the soldiers of the Ming army who were responsible for escorting the grain and grass had no time to reach their armor.
They faced thousands of menacing cavalry and were quickly surrounded by the Yan army's cavalry. They had no choice but to lay down their weapons and surrender.
"We are willing to surrender!"
Qianhuguan, who was responsible for escorting the grain and grass, stood up, and Zhu Di also walked out of the Yan army surrounding them.
"His Royal Highness King Yan..."
Official Qianhu had obviously seen Zhu Di, so he quickly knelt down.
Seeing him kneeling down, the soldiers of the Ming army behind him who were responsible for escorting the baggage also knelt down one after another.
The weakness of infantry in the face of cavalry is that when there are no Tangqi on guard, they can easily be attacked by cavalry. However, as the war evolved to the Ming Dynasty, it has become a game where whichever side is attacked and cannot wear armor will be massacred.
Under the thunderous attack of the Yan army's cavalry, the more than a thousand soldiers and civilians escorting grain and grass never expected that they would encounter the Yan army less than a hundred miles away from Zhending, so that until they were surrounded, no one among them Several people put on armor.
Now that they were exposed under the eyes of Yan Jun, they did not dare to make any attempt to penetrate the armor, for fear of causing misunderstanding and being massacred.
"How much grain and grass are escorted here?"
Zhu Di got off his horse, walked to the carts of grain, and asked the Qianhu officials, with a smile on his face.
"Three thousand two hundred stones."
The Qianhu official did not dare not answer. Zhu Di nodded after hearing this and said: "Go and transport it to Zhending. Also tell Marquis Changxing that I have led the army to Wuji and tell him to prepare for a fight with me."
"Ah?" Qian Huguan was stunned by Zhu Di's words, but Zhu Di didn't say anything more. He directly mounted his horse and led the army to leave the plain.
After they left, the Qianhu official realized what he was doing and quickly commanded the soldiers behind him: "Quickly untie the next horse and go to Zhending to send the message."
"yes!"
Wuji was attacked by the main force of the Yan army. The news was sent out at noon and was not sent to Zhending City until dusk.
Geng Bingwen summoned the generals above the commander level in the army. Dozens of people crowded into the Zhending County Yamen. Listening to the news that had just been sent, they felt unbelievable in their hearts.
Zhu Di really came to fight Wuji, and he had already led the main force to Wuji County.
"Wuji County is only a hundred miles away from the Hebei Camp. General, we should immediately lead the army to cross the river overnight to prevent the Hebei Camp from becoming a lonely army."
"That's not right. How dare the Yan army leave Hejian alone and come to fight for the truth?"
"Indeed, doing this is a taboo for military strategists. In this way, Yan Ni is equivalent to getting into the pocket of our army. Once the retreat is cut off, the tens of thousands of troops will be wiped out."
"This is a good opportunity. We can take this opportunity to annihilate Yan Ni in the plains and successfully suppress the rebellion!"
Many generals who survived the Hongwu period and have been active on the front line are discussing how to annihilate Zhu Di.
Li Jian didn't know, so he had to say: "On the plains, it is easy for the cavalry to choose the battlefield to target our army. Moreover, our army's mission is to hold on to the defense line and prevent Yan Ni from going south."
"Captain I don't know..." After hearing Li Jian's words, many veterans laughed and said:
"Isn't it just cavalry? Back then, when the Hu people had tens of thousands of cavalry in the Central Plains, why didn't they let us use our spears to drive them back to Xanadu?"
"Now that even Shangdu has become the Kaiping Guards of our dynasty, they can only run back to Mobei to survive."
Li Jian does not need to explain how powerful the cavalry is, but the problem is that the veteran general from the Hongwu period was not a good expert at attacking cavalry with his feet.
At that time, the Beiyuan army often sent tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of cavalry southward. Each time they tried to surprise the Ming army, but instead they were outflanked by the Ming army with both legs. The number of cavalrymen killed by their guns was not even 100,000, but 70,000 or 80,000. , will they be afraid of Zhu Di's thousands of cavalry?
Not only these veterans feel this way, but Geng Bingwen also feels this way.
Back then, he fought against Zhang Shicheng. Zhang Shicheng's force was seven or eight times his, but he was beaten to the point where he could not even advance. He even opened the city gate and chased him all the way.
He, Geng Bingwen, has never seen anything like this. Now he is telling him that there is a junior with thousands of cavalry, and he needs to be prepared for a surprise attack...
Hearing this, Geng Bingwen couldn't help but want to laugh.
Of course, a joke is one thing, but how to resist the Yan army's cavalry is another.
"Marquis Anlu..." Geng Bingwen called out Wu Jie, and then said: "Prepare to receive our army across the pontoon bridge to the north bank. The front army you are leading is preparing to dig trenches and set up horse guns to prevent the Yan Army's cavalry from raiding our army from the north. "
"General, take your orders!" Wu Jie responded.
After everyone agreed, Geng Bingwen did not relax, but said:
"There are a large number of Yan Ni cavalry, and they have detoured to Wuji County. Perhaps they are preparing to cut off our army's food route. Therefore, I will be stationed in the main force on the north bank to support Zhending at any time. At the same time, I will coordinate the Shanxi grain route to prevent Zhending from being cut off. "
Geng Bingwen was not afraid of Zhu Di attacking him head-on, nor did he think Zhu Di would be stupid enough to attack him head-on from the north. Perhaps cutting off the army's food supply route was his intention.
This is not surprising. After all, Zhu Di has a small number of people. If he really wants to go head-to-head with his army of hundreds of thousands, I am afraid that the entire Yan army will be wiped out and he will not be able to cause serious damage to himself. Instead, he will be imprisoned.
If he wants to go south, just let him go. If he really dares to go south, he will send people to block the bridges where he goes north and completely destroy him south of Hutuo River.
"Everyone, please step back."
After making all arrangements, Geng Bingwen persuaded the generals to retreat.
Soon, the generals in the yamen left with smiles, because they all felt that Zhu Di was at the end of his rope and was trying to fight to the death.
Everyone is saying that he is a hypocrite. He actually did not wait for the Bohai people in Liaodong to go south to start a decisive battle, but took the initiative to attack the stone with an egg.
Taking advantage of dusk, the main force of the Ming army in Zhending City began to cross the river.
It would take at least a day and night for more than 80,000 people to cross the river with just a few pontoon bridges.
During this period, the former army on the north bank also began to dig trenches under the command of Wu Jie and deploy horse guns to prepare for Zhu Di's surprise attack.
They all focused on the northeast, true north and other directions, but this was exactly what Zhu Di needed.
Time passed little by little, and under night the main force of the Ming army crossing the river began to build a camp on the north bank and kept digging.
The area of the camp required by 80,000 people is not small. Even normal construction would take a day, not to mention it is still dark at the moment.
Geng Bingwen inspected the area and after confirming that the construction of the camp on the north bank could be completed before noon tomorrow, he rested on the spot at the camp.
In the early morning, Geng Bingwen slowly got up and subconsciously asked the general on duty outside the camp: "Is there any news about Yan Ni?"
"To the northeast, our army, Tangqi, has searched for traces of the main force of the Yan army in Xinle County, fifty miles away. I'm afraid that the Yan common man just made a false shot in Wuji, and the target is still in the north."
The general brought the latest news to Geng Bingwen, which was that the main force of the Yan army appeared fifty miles northwest of Wuji County.
Calculating the time, this was just enough time for Zhu Di, who appeared in Wuji County yesterday, to go north and arrive in Wuji County.
"This common man from Yan, I thought he was going to cut off my food supply, but I never thought that he would actually be afraid and return north."
"But that's fine. Our army has built trenches and rifles in the north. It is difficult for his army to make a surprise attack. We can also rely on the Taihang Mountains to the west to encircle and suppress him here."
Geng Bingwen felt much more relaxed, but at the same time he felt unrealistic about Zhu Di's military ability.
It's not that he and Zhu Di have never met before. When Zhu Di rushed thousands of miles and made an emergency landing in Nai'erbuhua, he once thought that Zhu Di was a general who could garrison in the north, but now it seems...
Geng Bingwen shook his head and walked around the camp after walking out of the tent. Only then did he realize that the construction in the north direction of the camp had been completed, and construction was now underway to the east and west.
Judging from the current progress, it should be repaired before noon.
But as time passed, Geng Bingwen soon received news... Hejian sent Tangqi to come.
Without delay, he summoned the generals and met with Tangqi from Hejian in front of the main camp.
There are many generals standing around the tent. Geng Bingwen is sitting in the main seat, and Ning Zhong is standing next to him.
In the tent, Tangqi, who was dispatched hastily by Hejian, was reporting the situation to them: "The rebels did not attack Hejian, but Governor Qian of Ping Dynasty did see Mozhou being captured when he went south."
"I got it. You go back and spread the news and ask Governor Xu and Governor Ping Qian to go north to recapture Mozhou and Xiongxian and cut off the rebels' retreat."
Geng Bingwen spoke unhurriedly, already having the overall situation under control.
At this moment, not only him, but almost all the generals in the camp felt that victory was in sight. However, the situation often changed at this time.
"Buzzing..."
Suddenly, the subtle sound of horse hooves sounded, and before the generals could react, the overwhelming sound of whistles and horns suddenly sounded outside the tent.
"Enemy attack!!!"
A shrill cry rang out, and the faces of the generals in the tent changed drastically.
They rushed out of the tent and rushed to the north camp gate as soon as possible. However, they found that all the soldiers in the camp were rushing to the west.
But what’s to the west? Isn’t it the Taihang Mountains to the west?
"kill!!"
Geng Bingwen looked to the west and saw smoke and dust billowing above the west side of the camp. The shouts of cavalry, the sound of horse hooves and the clash of weapons were intertwined.
In a place where he could not see, Zhu Di personally led the troops into the battle, and thousands of Yan Army cavalry rushed towards the Southern Army camp.
Everyone in the Southern Army was unaware of the possible threat from the west of the camp, because to the west was not only the Hutuo River, but also the Taihang Mountains.
But in the face of this impossible situation, Zhu Di appeared with thousands of cavalry. Like a terrible torrent, they rushed into the Ming army that was building a fortress on the west side, sweeping away all the enemies in front. Almost exhausted.
Most of the Confederate soldiers in the camp were only wearing "thin" mandarin duck war jackets. Facing the rolling torrent of the Yan army, many of them were washed away before they had time to raise their weapons, let alone put on armor.
The bright spears and sabers in Yan Jun's hands became a meat grinder for harvesting the main force of the Confederate army. Wherever they passed, Confederate soldiers screamed and fell to the ground.
For a time, the entire camp turned into a mess, and the screams were overwhelming. The northern fortifications prepared by the main force of the Confederate army were completely useless.
The Yan army's offensive was fierce, and the 80,000 Ming army that had crossed over were cut off in an instant, and the front line went straight to the Yan army's encirclement.
All the Confederate soldiers along the way were unprepared and could only respond in panic. The entire army had no organization or plan.
Facing the torrent of cavalry in front of them, they forgot to shoot in panic, and everyone ran away.
All this happened so suddenly, Geng Bingwen and other southern generals watched in horror as their camp instantly turned into chaos.
"Stabilize the troops around the camp and use my guards to cover the army's retreat across the river and southward!"
"I will personally go to the camp in the east and lead the army to relieve the siege!"
Although Geng Bingwen was old, he was the one who reacted the fastest. His guards numbered three thousand and had put on armor early. They were the only force that could resist Zhu Di's 80,000-strong army. The 60,000-strong army camp on the east side was The key to turning defeat into victory.
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhong immediately led the three thousand guards entrenched around the tent to stop the Yan army's cavalry. Wu Jie and others also led their own guards to begin to gather the defeated army and ordered them to wear armor and prepare to resist the Yan army.
However, in the face of this situation, many Confederate soldiers were running around, blindly looking for a foothold, and some even ignored orders to cross the river and regarded Zhending City as a place to escape.
The crowded pontoon bridge could not bear the pressure and collapsed, and hundreds of Confederate soldiers fell into the water and splashed.
"kill!!"
"The sons of Peiping will be killed after me!"
At this time, the Yan Army's cavalry had penetrated the front of the 80,000 Confederate Army and set fire to the tents with rockets.
For a time, the entire southern army's main camp became a vast ocean. The Yan army's cavalry was charging rampantly, unstoppable. The swords were shining brightly and the blades were making shrill sounds.
Each knight had a ferocious look on their face, and the weapons in their hands were even more ferocious. The Confederate army was so frightened that they were unable to fight back.
"Beep--"
Suddenly, a group of thousands of armed infantry with spears appeared among the soldiers in front. They were running towards them with their spears in hand, and their formation was not disordered.
Any obstacle that dared to block their way forward, whether it was the Yan Army cavalry or the defeated Southern Army infantry, was dealt with by them, in order to defeat the Yan Army cavalry before they could react.
"Follow my instructions in advance and fire the trumpet!"
Zhu Di did not hesitate to fight, but took the lead in firing the trumpet, and many of the cavalry behind him also fired the trumpet.
Suddenly, thousands of Yan army cavalrymen who originally intended to cut off the 80,000-strong army began to turn their horses and retreat, slashing and killing all the way along the retreat. The Southern soldiers suffered numerous casualties.
Ning Zhong's 3,000 spearmen failed to catch up with the Yan army's cavalry, but they successfully drove the Yan army's cavalry out of the camp.
"Are you all dizzy?!"
"Run naked one by one, where's your armor!"
Ning Zhong yelled at the defeated troops who were gradually calming down, and at the same time sent people to investigate the movement and number of the Yan army's cavalry on the west side.
Under Ning Zhong's shouts, some Confederate soldiers finally calmed down, went to the camp to put on armor, and followed Ning Zhong towards the direction where Zhu Di escaped.
The size of the three thousand armored soldiers began to grow, and it only took a quarter of an hour to grow to tens of thousands, and successfully reached the western camp defense line that was broken through by the Yan army.
Let alone horse guns, no trenches have been excavated here. In the distance, on the plain on the north bank of the Hutuo River, the Yan army's cavalry, numbering only five or six thousand men, was returning and replacing their bows and arrows.
"Longbows and firecrackers are ready to greet you!"
Ning Zhong led more than 10,000 men to defend the western camp. However, the people who came with him were in a hurry, and most of them only had short soldiers. Only Geng Bingwen's 3,000 guards inserted their spears on the ground and took out their rifles and bows. String the bow and prepare to use rifle fire to defeat the Yan army's cavalry.
At the same time, the 60,000-strong army responsible for guarding the due north also began to walk out of the right-wing camp, forming a formation to rescue the still-chaotic left-wing camp.
Many chaotic left-wing southern troops began to calm down amidst the shouts and curses of Wu Jie and others, and they all went to put on armor and march westward with long and short soldiers following the right-wing army.
Zhu Di led the cavalry to dismount and put on their rifles, and started firing arrows more than 70 steps away from Ning Zhong and others.
The arrow was unable to penetrate the thick armor, but it angered the Confederate soldiers because the move was more like a provocation.
Ning Zhong suppressed his temper, and Geng Bingwen also led the 50,000 troops on the right wing to leave the camp after half an hour of guarding the western defense line of the left-wing camp, and arrived at the western position like a long snake.
"Only this few people?"
Geng Bingwen rode his horse to the front of Ning Zhong's formation, while the Yan army not far away was still firing arrows in provocation.
"Go back to the general, we only have these few troops!"
Ning Zhong gritted his teeth, and Geng Bingwen also turned cold. Obviously, he did not expect that his 80,000 men would be so disrupted by these five or six thousand cavalry, and he has not regained his composure until now.
"The whole army will follow up. We have our camp in the Taihang Mountains on the west side. The only place they can move is those dozens of miles of hills. Wipe them all out!"
Geng Bingwen was familiar with the terrain and began to order the entire army to attack.
Ning Zhong led his army to join them, and more than 60,000 armored soldiers began to move westward, trying to completely surround Zhu Di and thousands of cavalry to wash away the shame.
Just seeing the tens of thousands of troops stretching, Zhu Di put away his bow in excitement and looked up at Tianshi.
"Zhang Yu, it's your turn to take action!"
"Uuuuuu——"
It seemed that there was a tacit understanding. When Zhu Di finished speaking, the Southern Army, which was marching westward, heard the sound of horns that resounded throughout the world from the due north, as well as the dull and dense sound of horse hooves.
In an instant, tens of thousands of Yan troops riding various horses and mules appeared in the north. They were like iron nails, rushing towards the marching Southern Army seven inches from north to south. The right wing, which was originally responsible for guarding the fortifications due north, Of the large army, only 10,000 people were left to defend the fortifications.
Faced with the impact of tens of thousands of horse infantry, these ten thousand people seemed to be of no help.
They were overwhelmed in an instant, and the trenches and anti-horse guns they had built were destroyed in an instant.
"Boys! It's time for us to show off our talents!"
For a time, the two Yan armies in the west and north joined together, and the way they joined together was to defeat the hundreds of thousands of Southern troops!
"Follow me!!"
(End of chapter)
