Seeing that Xu Youchang suddenly stopped talking and had a gloomy expression on his face, Du Jian thought it was due to pain from his injury. He quickly called the soldiers and asked them to get some strong wine and give Xu Youchang a few gulps.
Xu Youchang waved his hand, stopped Du Jian, and said softly: "I'm fine...it's fine."
After that, he stood up suddenly and shouted loudly: "Brothers! Look, the enemy fleet has been repulsed, and the brothers from the First Army and the Sixth Army are also coming! As soon as the reinforcements arrive, we will beat up Xuan Jia Army! The chaos in the Shengtang world was caused by those beasts, can you let them go?"
"No!" Responses like a roaring tsunami sounded from the shore, hills, and dense forests at the same time.
"Can you let them go?!" Xu Youchang asked again.
"Can't! Can't! Can't!"
The shouts were so loud that even Li Jiangyao on the other side of the river could hear them clearly.
Xu Youzhang roared angrily as if venting his depression, then turned over and mounted a new war horse, waved his hand and pointed forward: "Give me my order, the whole army will form a formation!"
Du Jian was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that Xu Shuai was so brave that he would take the initiative to challenge the Xuanjia Army on the opposite side before the follow-up reinforcements arrived. He quickly jumped on his horse and ordered the second army to assemble and prepare for battle immediately.
Tens of thousands of soldiers poured out of the defense trenches and lined up again. A dozen giant mixed infantry and cavalry phalanxes advanced in a fan-shaped formation.
Suddenly, the Xuanjia rebels in the distance also became nervous and quickly formed a formation to greet them.
At this time, Ye Rongcheng from the rear had also arrived. The 100,000 main force plus Xie Bao's troops formed a larger formation than the Zhenjiang Army. Looking from a distance, it looked astonishingly impressive.
However, facing a powerful enemy, Xu Youchang showed no fear on his face. He asked Du Jian if he knew why he decided to attack first.
Du Jian laughed loudly: "Shuai Xu, although he is a rough man in his humble position, he is no amateur in fighting. Ye Rongcheng came with reinforcements and will launch an attack soon. Once they advance to the vicinity of the river bank, it will be difficult for the brothers behind them. Landed successfully. As before, you want to push the battlefield as far away as possible to leave enough space for the First Army and the Sixth Army."
Xu Youchang nodded: "That's right. The rebels' preparations exceeded my previous expectations. Obviously, they learned the information that we were going to cross the river in advance, so they mobilized the main force of Xuanjia to defend, and their troops were far away. Defeat our army. Next we will face a tough battle. Whether we can successfully land the entire army and conquer the important town of Xuancheng depends on who is tougher and more ruthless between us and the enemy."
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Banners filled the mountains and fields, and war drums were deafening. The battle between the Zhenjiang Army and the Xuanjia Army had lasted for two full hours. The two sides were going back and forth on the plains seven or eight miles away from the river bank, charging and killing each other repeatedly.
Although the strength of the Zhenjiang Army was less than half of the many forces, under the command of Xu Youchang and Du Jian, they burst out with amazing courage and fighting spirit. This iron army that once swept through Western Xinjiang and defeated the Turks finally found a strong opponent qualified to match it on the battlefield of the Central Plains.
The soldiers and horses led by Ye Rongcheng and Xie Bao were based on the original combat strength of the Xuanjia Legion, supplemented by a large number of Jiangnan Xiangyong. After careful training, they could be called the absolute main force in the rebel battle sequence.
It cannot be said that it is exactly the same as the previous Xuanjia Legion, but in terms of style, playing style, system and morale, it is very close to the original Shengtang Ace.
It can be said that this offensive battle is a real chess match.
At this time, the sun has set in the west, and the battlefields everywhere are being shrouded in the afterglow and darkness. Countless soldiers and horses lay on the ground, surrounded by broken halberds and broken shields filled with arrows.
A new round of attacks by the Xuanjia rebels was repulsed by the Zhenjiang Army. At this time, they were retreating like a tide. Tens of thousands of archers standing in the distance were bending their bows and setting arrows to provide cover for the retreating troops. They were always on guard. The Zhenjiang Army launched a counterattack.
"General Ye, I think Xu Youchang can't hold it any longer!" Xie Bao looked pale and endured the severe pain in his chest. He gritted his teeth and said, "The 15th Battalion just barely broke through the Zhenjiang Army's position. Damn it." ! People named Xu are lucky!"
Ye Rongcheng ignored his words and only stared at the battlefield in front of him, carefully observing the changes in the situation.
Xie Bao was a little depressed and said: "If you ask me, we can launch a general attack. While the opponent doesn't have much strength, just bulldoze them all at once!"
Ye Rongcheng still didn't speak. He squinted his eyes, looked at it for a while, and suddenly shouted: "Pass my order, the 20th, 21st, 29th, and 30th battalions, immediately secure their positions and form a blocking position. The others All ministries organize their teams and prepare to retreat!"
Xie Bao was stunned when he heard this and said in confusion: "What did you say? Retreat?!"
Ye Rongcheng pointed in the direction of the dark river bank in the distance and said in a deep voice: "The enemy's reinforcements are about to be assembled. If we don't withdraw, something big will happen!"
Following his words, in the shadow of the setting sun, a faint dust suddenly rose from behind the Zhenjiang Army. Looking carefully, two paths of dust and smoke, one on the left and one on the right, are flowing in the east and west directions respectively, and at extremely fast speeds.
Xie Bao is also a veteran in fighting. When he saw this, he immediately reacted: "Wori! The Zhenjiang Army wants to outflank us!"
What he said was absolutely correct. Less than half an hour ago, when the two sides were fighting most intensely on the frontal battlefield, the last batch of fifty large ships carrying the Zhenjiang Gale Cavalry Army arrived near the river.
Forty thousand armored cavalry, including men and horses, were all in place and began to line up and assemble.
Xu Youchang immediately assigned them a task, divided them into left and right wings, and tried their best to outflank the Xuanjia rebels and cut them off!
Taking advantage of the gloomy sky, the First Army moved quickly. Two iron cavalry galloped along the edge of the battlefield to cover them up.
Thanks to the calm, experienced and experienced Ye Rongcheng, if it were Xie Bao's command, he would probably have to wait until the Gale Force rushed nearby and launched a fierce attack.
At present, it is a fluke that the rebels still have a chance to adjust their response.
The four main battalions formed up in front and divided into several skirmish lines to protect the main formation, while tens of thousands of archers moved to the east and west wings, preparing to block the cavalry from approaching from a long distance. The remaining rebel soldiers and horses, according to Ye Rongcheng's order, adjusted their order, and the rear team became the front team, and gradually began to shrink and retreat.
Xu Youchang, who was observing the enemy's situation from a distance, also noticed the changes in the rebels at this time, and knew that the cavalry outflanking strategy had been seen through by the opponent. So, he quickly notified Du Jian on the front line and launched a charge without hesitation, disrupting the enemy's retreat and buying time for the cavalry.
After the military order was issued, the Second Army immediately advanced in formation, regardless of casualties and exhaustion, and quickly pushed towards the Xuanjia rebels.
The war drums of the charge sounded again, and the fighting became more intense. More than 10,000 soldiers in the border area began to speed up and run to the beat of the drums. The sword and shield bearers held their shields high, the archers ran and shot, and the warriors who broke the formation brandished their spears and axes and roared the war cry, vowing to avenge their comrades who had sacrificed their lives before.
As if to echo them, the cavalry on both wings also speeded up significantly, and the thunderous sound of hoofbeats rolled in with astonishing momentum.
This is a scene that even the Turkic elites can't help but feel frightened when they see it. Who can not panic?
However, Ye Rongcheng was not a good man. He had been on the battlefield for a long time and remained calm in the face of danger. Facing the changes on the battlefield, he quickly mobilized two cavalry teams to help break up the rear. The remaining troops stepped up their actions and retreated towards Xuancheng.
After a fierce battle for such a long time, the troops have exhausted their energy at this moment, and the opposite side is full of fresh troops. The only wise choice is to rely on fortifications and temporarily avoid the edge!
The four infantry battalions and two cavalry teams responsible for blocking the enemy's rear only have a total of six to seven thousand people. Even if they don't want to risk it, the safety of the main force must be guaranteed.
With his sudden decision, the entire rebel army finally withdrew from the battlefield in time, and entered the Xuancheng defense line with complete organization and no danger. Seeing that Xu Youchang could not take advantage of the opportunity to keep the other party behind, he had no choice but to let the troops gather together and wait for other troops to cross the river and join together.
At this time, the rebels had assembled nearly 300,000 troops in the Xuancheng area. Although they could not stop Xu Youchang from forcibly crossing the river, they were still confident in holding Xuanzhou, the frontline base camp.
As for the Zhenjiang Army, in two days and two nights, the three main armies of 150,000 troops all arrived at the south bank of the river. Except for the Second Army, which suffered greater battle losses, the Gale Force 1 Army and the Nulang Sixth Army were basically intact and had sufficient combat power. abundant.
At the same time, Jigriz also brought Li Jiangyao's words to Xu Youchang, saying that if the enemy's situation changes, if Xuancheng can be attacked, then attack it. If it cannot be fought, withdraw immediately.
Xu Youchang did not hesitate about this, and still decided to execute the original plan and launch an attack on Xuancheng.
He explained to generals such as Du Jian and Jigriz that although the enemy was fully prepared and had a much larger total force than his own, they did not know the true intentions of the Suppressing Army, and they could not even determine this. Is it just a tentative cross-river offensive? Or will the southern expedition begin in full force?
Therefore, the opponent can only adopt passive defense first and wait until the situation is clear.
The so-called finding out the situation includes whether the Zhenjiang Army will continue to attack and whether there will be new troops crossing the river to join the battle later.
At the same time, the naval battle in the direction of Yiling upstream has begun. Bao Yuchun was fierce and determined to win, and launched his main force to attack Yang Li and Wang Wenlie. Whether the imperial fleet can survive this difficulty depends, to a large extent, on whether the Zhenjiang Army downstream can frighten Lao Jianhua.
Only by hurting the enemy and frightening the enemy can the rebel navy be forced by the pressure of the situation and have no choice but to end the military operation against Yiling early, allowing Yang Li and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.
Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, the troops crossing the river must be brave and fearless, and challenge the enemy's 300,000 troops with a strength of 150,000.
"Brothers, I don't want to force you to do anything," Xu Youchang said, his shoulders wrapped in thick bandages, but his tone was as courageous and decisive as usual: "But as a member of the Suppression Army, there is one thing I want to tell you clearly. Lonely Army Fight hard, outnumber the enemy, not be afraid of powerful enemies, and live to the death. These sixteen words have always been the soul of our heroic army! For the sake of victory, my friend, Commander, hopes to lead you to gallop on the battlefield and move forward indomitably!"
