Yuan Zongdi was really foresighted. His personal soldiers went back to convey the message, and Li Zicheng was just ready to set off. After receiving the news that Li Yan occupied Lintong and was attacking Yuan Zongdi fiercely. Yuan Zongdi probably could not resist, he immediately sent five thousand troops to seize the Ba Bridge. More than 10,000 troops set up defense lines on the west bank of the Ba River. As for the east bank of the Ba River, it was the mission of Yuan Zongdi's troops.

Liu Zongmin immediately suggested: "It's not good to do this by itself."

"Even if the troops on the east bank are defeated by Li Yan, they can still run out of 10,000 people, right? Now control the Ba River and establish a defense line on the west bank of the Ba River." Li Zicheng said confidently: "The troops Li Yan came to have only 20,000 troops. Apart from the necessary areas and the forces to protect the baggage, it would be great if he could have 15,000 troops. I have the equipment he has, and I don't believe he can cross the Ba River."

Liu Zongmin did not save face for Li Zicheng and immediately said, "Don't forget that the troops on the East Coast were defeated. They knew that they were going to give up on the East Coast when they saw your arrangement. Will they stay and die? They will definitely cross the bridge. What should you do then? Should they put them over or not put them over the bridge?"

Li Zicheng's face turned out to be bad in an instant. He knew what Liu Zongmin said. If he let the defeated soldiers cross the bridge, he would probably be used by Li Yan and cross the bridge, and even the troops on the West Bank might be defeated. But if he did not let the defeated soldiers cross the bridge, it would be disappointing to the hearts of other soldiers and make the troops unable to cohese.

"Tell me what you do." Li Zicheng put the overall situation first. Although he was unhappy, he still asked Liu Zongmin.

Liu Zongmin said: "Transfer the large army to the east coast and defend the east coast."

"This is very dangerous." Tian Jianxiu immediately objected: "The defeated soldiers on the East Coast will disrupt all the troops. In that case, not only will the East Coast still fail, but it will also consume a lot of troops."

Liu Zongmin immediately refuted: "The first priority now is to keep Li Yan away and not let him approach Xi'an, otherwise Xi'an would not be able to defend at all. As long as he could hold on the east bank and coupled with the detours on the north bank of the Wei River, Li Yan should care about his retreat at that time."

As soon as Liu Zongmin finished speaking, Li Shuangxi came in and reported with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, you have just received the news from Bohou (Li Guo) that they have retreated to Jinsuo Pass, but Li Mou's troops followed. Moreover, they suffered heavy casualties, with only less than 8,000 troops, and their artillery and supplies were discarded. I am afraid that Jinsuo Pass will be difficult to defend. They ask Your Majesty to prepare early."

Li Zicheng said in disappointment: "How could he retreat so quickly?"

Liu Zongmin immediately said: "Don't worry about them. As long as Li Yan defeats this way, it doesn't matter if Li Mou hits the Wei River. As long as we encircle and annihilate Li Yan, we can even take down all of Li Yan's territory, and the whole north will be ours."

Li Zicheng hesitated and could not make up his mind. He could ignore the north for now, after all, there was still a distance. But if he defended the east bank of the Ba River, there would be a risk of the entire east bank troops being wiped out. Although he had ordered the mobilization of troops from the northwest, it would take some time to wait for them to come. Now the troops in Xi'an are only 70,000 to 80,000. If these 30,000 people are ruined, Xi'an will be in danger.

Before he could make up his mind, Li Shuangxi came to report again. Yuan Zongdi had already crossed Baqiao, and the defeated soldiers ran towards Baqiao, asking Li Zicheng to decide whether to let the defeated soldiers come.

Li Zicheng had no clear order here, but the defeated soldiers had already rushed to the edge of Baqiao. The troops ordered to defend Baqiao did not receive clear orders and could only let their brothers pass. However, their release instantly made Baqiao a gathering place for crowds, and the order was suddenly in chaos. Although there was ice on the Ba River, the ice surface was much thinner and no one dared to cross the river from the ice surface.

The defeated soldiers squeezed on the bridge and slowly passed by, and the wooden guardrail was also crushed by the crowded crowd. From time to time, people would be squeezed down the bridge, smashed the ice layer, and fell into the cold river water. But even so, the defeated soldiers behind were still surrounding forward desperately, wanting to return to the west bank soon.

Li Yan's cavalry were chasing behind him, and the artillery on the other side fired, and more than ten bounced projectiles hit more than twenty war horses, and the cavalry had to retreat temporarily. However, the defeated soldiers were still very frightened. Compared with the cavalry, they were more afraid of Li Yan's artillery. They would be attacked by pieces of projectiles from more than two hundred steps away. Whether it was shields or armor, it was difficult to withstand the extremely penetrating shotgun. The blood holes on their bodies, even if the internal organs were not damaged, would kill people even if they were bleeding.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Yan rushed over with his infantry. He observed the situation at this moment and found that the rebels were fighting to cross the bridge, and a large number of gatherings were gathering near the bridgehead. On the other side of the Ba River, the rebels were also building bunkers, and the artillery was ready.

The Ba River near Ba Bridge is only sixty or seventy steps wide. Not only cannons can be fired, but tiger squat cannons can also exert their power. Li Zicheng has many cannons, with one cannon every ten steps, and tiger squat cannons are densely arranged everywhere. If they fight for long-distance artillery, it will not only waste time, but also have bunkers in the rebel army, and the effect will not be good. If they advance to the bank of the Ba River and use tiger squat cannons to kill the enemy, their own losses will be greater.

Li Yan thought for a while and said, "Let a few artillery approach the bridge behind the crowd, and then fire at the gathering enemy soldiers. I think the defeated soldiers should flee in other directions. At that time, the troops took the opportunity to unfold and use them as bunkers for us. We asked the troops to cooperate closely to ensure the safety of the artillery and to push the rebels to the river bank."

This requirement is indeed a bit difficult, but fortunately, the more than 10,000 rebels gathered near the bridge were defeated soldiers, and they were chased by cavalry and fled back. Many weapons were discarded, and they also lost the courage to fight to the death. Such a defeated general should not have many people coming to fight them desperately.

Four four-inch cannons were pushed out, and a row of swords, shield soldiers, a row of spearmen, and four rows of musketeers acted as guards in the middle and sides of the cannons. On both sides, other cannons were also prepared. On the one hand, they provided flanking cover for the artillery that was coming out, and on the other hand, they were ready to advance at any time.

The defeated soldiers were not in the mood to care about Li Yan's movements. The soldiers behind were all pushing forward with all their might. As long as they could cross the Ba River, they would be safe. Yuan Zongdi on the west bank of the Ba River saw Li Yan's movements through the watchtower, but the cannons that Li Yan came out in front were blocked by his own people crowded at the bridge. The tiger squat cannon could not be hit, so he could only do it in a hurry.

Yuan Zongdi knew that Li Yan must be planning to seize the bridge, and he had to do something to stop Li Yan's actions. So he ordered: "Order the artillery and fire the artillery immediately on the other side."

Ren Jirong, who was in charge of the West Bank defense, refused and said: "Mianhou, Li Yan's men are all three miles away. Even if the artillery is fired, it will not work. Why waste ammunition?"

"Li Yan is about to seize the bridge. What ammunition is still in mind at this time?" Yuan Zongdi said dissatisfied.

Ren Jirong said expressionlessly: "Mianhou's defense line is on the east bank. It is already against the holy intention to let Mianhou come."
Chapter completed!