When Hu Rui, the governor of Xiangzhou County, heard that 20,000 Qi troops were coming straight to Xiangzhou, he was immediately panicked. If it weren't for the news that General Yang Zhi had already brought troops to him, he was almost thinking about whether to die or to abandon his post or escape. Hu Rui was the governor of Xiangzhou during the Chu State period, and it was an anomaly that he could not replace people until now. This was not only because he was the first Chu official to decide to join the Ming Dynasty when the Ming Dynasty planned the four counties in Jiangnan. It was also because if he counted the origins, he could also be said to be an official of Grandpa Yang. Since Yang Zhi is now a general who stayed in Chu, he naturally would not replace people at will.

"General, General, how many troops have you brought?" Hu Rui asked in a row as helmet and armored, wearing a cloak, and stepping into the government office with majestic appearance.

"Five thousand people! And you haven't been able to get armed yet. You, the Xiangzhou arsenal, should be fine?" Yang Zhi walked into the lobby and sat in the middle without hesitation.

"It's only five thousand people!" Hu Rui was disappointed, "There are only five thousand people, and it's not a big problem to defend the county city. The general, the arsenal of the county, and the subordinates have already gone to check it out. It's full, and all the equipment is well preserved, and the arsenal officials are still very dedicated."

"That's good!" Yang Zhi glanced at Hu Rui, took the teacup from him, took a sip, put it down, and smiled and said, "But I am not ready to defend the city. Jiang Shangyan and the others can ignore Peng Chun's troops and let them pass through the county in Wanzhou. That's because Wanzhou is already fully prepared for war, and the war has been constant for many years and the population is not dense. Can you compare Xiangzhou with Wanzhou? You have more people in one county than them. So we have to find the right time to attack."

Hu Rui said helplessly: "But General, they have 20,000 people. Although you are all veterans, you have been out of the battle for a long time. I wish you bluntly said that you are not retired from the Ming army!"

Yang Zhi glanced at him and said lightly: "These five thousand people are indeed not the old Ming army, but they were also the former army retreated from the eastern border army of Chu. How bad can the army trained by Cheng Laoshuai?"

"It's the Xiaguan who made a mistake." Although Cheng Wuben has been dead for many years, his prestige is still awe-inspiring even after so many years." But General, you, the five thousand people, are still too risky to find your opponent to fight. Once you have any mistakes, it will be a waste of money!"

Although he was a little afraid of Yang Zhi, Hu Rui still argued with reason.

"Looking? What's there to find?" Yang Zhi smiled: "If their target is really Xiangzhou instead of a fake shot, can they go to more places? I'm going to wait and see."

"Where can we tell where they cross the river for such a long river?" Hu Rui murmured.

Yang Zhi laughed, "Mr. Hu doesn't understand military affairs, so he naturally doesn't know that although the river channel is long, there are not many places suitable for crossing the river. He has 20,000 people, and there will be even fewer places that can be successfully expanded after crossing the river. So as long as their destination is Xiangzhou, I can be counted as death. Wherever they want to cross the river, I will wait for them."

"What should I do if the general leaves? " Hu Rui said pitifully.

"There will be recruited troops coming one after another in the future. Just be ready to pick them up." Yang Zhi waved his hand: "Find a place, I'll take a break, and you can arrange for the arsenal officials to hand over the equipment immediately."

"Yes!" Seeing that Yang Zhi had made up his mind, Hu Rui could only agree helplessly. He thought that even if the general was going to take the risk, he could only pray to God to bless the enemy. He really hit the general wherever he could hit him, and he could at least attack halfway, and he would never get any advantage.

As Yang Zhi said, Peng Chun, who brought 20,000 people, had not much room for choice, but only one, that is Qingtan. Because not only is the water flow smoothly, but more importantly, there is a bridge made of cement steel bars. The reason why Peng Chun dared to choose this place that everyone could predict was actually to bully Xiangzhou at this time, and there were not many troops to be dispatched. The main force of the Ming army was either confronting Guo Xiancheng's main force in Kunling County, or fighting with the Qi army in Xuzhou and Wanzhou.

During the process of advancing towards the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, he finally realized that the tens of thousands of cavalry led by Jiang Shangyan ignored him, but went to Tongfang, and could only pray for Li Jiarong in his heart. From the perspective of a general, Jiang Shangyan's choice was not wrong. If they could quickly eliminate Li Jiarong, then at the speed of the cavalry, it would not take long to catch up with him. So once the movement of the cavalry of Jiang Shangyan was determined, he would no longer have any worries. He basically marched day and night, advancing wildly towards Xiangzhou.

He needs to gain time to cross the river first. Xiangzhou is not Wanzhou and there is not much military defense. As long as he can win the Wanzhou County City, there will be more room for maneuver. At least he can defend the city and wait for the victory of General Guo Xiancheng in Kunling County. If Guo Xiancheng wins, then he can occupy Xiangzhou, which can provide a powerful fulcrum for the main force of the Qi army and lay the foundation for the large-scale attack on Chu land by the Great Qi army.

So he had to choose Qingtan to seize the bridge and cross the river as fast as possible.

Yang Zhi had the same judgment as Peng Chun, so he armed him with his armed 5,000 reserves and went straight to Qingtan to wait for Peng Chun's arrival. However, unlike Hu Rui's expectation of half-cross attack, Yang Zhi crossed the river directly, and the five thousand people lined up against the river and the bridge, and was actually preparing to fight back.

Of course, Yang Zhi's subordinates did not really have only five thousand reserves, and the Thunderstorm's thunder cavalry was also under his command. In addition, four inland river clutches made from Quanzhou Shipyard were also swaying on the river channel behind him. These inland river warships were equipped with the Ming Dynasty's most advanced rapid-fire cannons. If it weren't for the eight rapid-fire cannons on these four ships, to be honest, Yang Zhi really had no confidence in his heart, but with them, it would be very different.

The rapid-fire cannons equipped on the gunship are completely incomparable to the lethality of the artillery equipped between the Ming and Qi armies. After using this kind of cannon, no one will like the artillery that is still regarded as treasures by the army.

In addition to these forces, Yang Zhi also had a hundred personal bodyguards, which Qin Fengqiang ordered to equip every general. These people were all equipped with the Ming Dynasty Style 1.

It is precisely because of these resolute struggles that Yang Zhi was confident that he would fight back to the river with a hundred times. He wanted to lead Peng Chun to attack him alone and unanimously. Peng Chun had no chance of choice, unless he did not cross the river, but if he was not across the river, if the Yan of the Yangtze River caught up, how could he have the consequences? Once the 20,000 troops mainly infantry were targeted by 10,000 cavalry, they would sooner or later be swallowed.

Yang Zhi did not arrive much earlier than Peng Chun. He arrived in Qingtan two hours earlier than his opponent. When his army crossed the river and lined up a lineup, smoke and dust were already rolling in the distance, and Peng Chun's vanguard cavalry had already arrived here.

Peng Chun really didn't expect that Yang Zhi was standing on the back of the river. He was also furious while confused. This was naked contempt. When he saw Yang Zhi, who was riding a tall horse with a big red cloak blown by the cold wind, was standing on the bridge in a large shape, he immediately put down the telescope and issued an order to attack.

He didn't have much time to get entangled with the enemy, because the scout who had cut off the rear had already reported to him the location of Jiang Shangyan's cavalry, which was only half a day away from him.

Yang Zhi's five thousand army had no long-range weapons except crossbows, which was similar to Peng Chun. Peng Chun did not even carry crossbows, and there was no need to mention heavy weapons like heavy crossbows. In order to pursue the speed of advance, his army only maintained the most basic equipment, and the long-range weapons of the army could only be dominated by bows and arrows. Fortunately, the Qi army did not eliminate archers like the Ming army for many years, and in their army, crossbowmen were still an important part.

The first thing that attacks is the cavalry.

Three thousand cavalry rushed over, and the smoke and dust splashed up covered the sky and the sun.

There were endless clangs and bangs above the Ming army formation. As Yang Zhi said, although this reserve force had been distracted from the battle formation for a long time, it was the eastern border army trained by Cheng Wuben. He had been fighting with the Qi army for many years. As soon as he stepped onto the battlefield, he heard the familiar sound of the snare drums, and when he saw the military flag of the Qi people and the military uniforms of the Qi people, the fighting spirit rooted and inner in his heart was instantly aroused.

Large shields were erected on the ground. With the sound of Kaka, all the shields were assembled together to form a shield wall. Behind the shield wall, a crossbow machine poked the nose out of the gap in the shield wall and aimed at the place where the smoke and dust were churning.

But the first to open fire were the four inland gunships behind them.

The guns of the eight rapid-fire cannons were aimed at the battlefield ahead. With a command, the cannon ship's hull sagged slightly backwards, and circles of waves rippled around.

The shells landed accurately among the galloping cavalry, and each explosion would lift more or less of the cavalry off the horse.

Peng Chun's face changed slightly when he heard the shells on the opposite side rumble and exploded from the air.

The cavalry rushed out, and once again the sound of the Ming Dynasty style 1 sounded. Yang Zhi concentrated his hundred gunmen behind the crossbow. At this moment, these people stood steadily behind the big shield and steadily hooked the plate machine. These people were strictly trained gunmen. The gunmen fed with bullets were extremely accurate. They almost shot and lifted the cavalry about eighty steps off the horse.

When I moved forward, I heard the sound of linoleum from the crossbow.
Chapter completed!