The north gate of Dengzhou was wide open, and Li Zeyi led a thousand cavalry to rush out, trying to break up Dong Wenyong's defense line in the north.
On the top of the city, Liu Jinsuo raised his lookout tube and saw billows of dust and smoke coming from the official road of Nanyang Prefecture.
"Shi Tianze is here?!"
Following this exclamation, Liu Jinsuo leaned forward, looked north more carefully for a while, and burst into laughter.
"Haha, Shi Tianze is really here. The county king's calculation was really accurate. He said that he would withdraw on April 18th, and the enemy's reinforcements really arrived on April 18th."
"Shut up."
Yang Ben had put down his telescope and hurriedly chased Li Xia down the city wall.
"Move quickly! Get ready to leave the city..."
Yang Ben knows these things much better than Liu Jinsuo.
How can such calculations be so accurate? Knowing that Shi Tianze is coming today, it would be too hasty to choose to withdraw today.
The fact is that they calculated that Shi Tianze would arrive after April 20th no matter what.
What I calculated was that the news of Shi Quan's death came and the time for Shi Tianze to return to the army... I didn't calculate it accurately.
"Report! The Xiangyang defenders have also arrived! From the tower in Nancheng, I saw Lu Wenhuan's banner already three miles away..."
Li Xia then got on his horse, listened to the report, reined in the reins and headed south of the city.
Yang Ben rode his horse to follow and asked: "Your Majesty, now that Lu Wenhuan is here, should we withdraw?"
"withdraw."
Having said that they would withdraw today, if Lu Wenhuan did not come, Li Xia did not intend to wait any longer; but now that he had come, Li Xia decided to give Dengzhou to Lu Wenhuan.
He climbed onto the south tower, looked through the lookout tube for a while, and determined that the Xiangyang Song Army was in the south, and immediately gave the order.
"Liu Jinsuo, lead the infantry to defend the city; Yang Ben, lead the troops to escort Lu Wenhuan into the city; Hu Legen, follow me to defeat the enemy..."
~~
Shi Tianze rode his horse slowly, listening to the generals around him reporting on the military situation.
"Dong Wenzhong led more than 5,000 men to reinforce the defense of Nanyang Fucheng and set up an ambush to the northwest to prevent Li Xia from escaping from Wuguan Road again. General Zhudu had already sent troops to Jinan. After receiving the battle report, he immediately returned to the defense..."
When the general finished speaking, Shi Tianze said: "Including my army, there are 30,000 people?"
"Yes, in the whole of Nanyang, there are 30,000 troops involved because of Li Xia, but here in Dengzhou there are only more than 15,000 troops. The rest are guarding the prefecture and counties in Nanyang Prefecture and blocking the main transportation routes."
"How many people did Lu Wenhuan bring?"
"The report from the scouting horse should be between 10,000 and 20,000. Thousands are besieging Xinye. Thousands more are ensuring supplies and rivers. Seven thousand troops have arrived outside Dengzhou City."
"..."
Just listening to this, one can tell that Lu Wenhuan is much more stable than Li Xia in fighting.
The baggage and logistics should be arranged first, and then the retreat route should be ensured. Any threatening cities along the way should be removed...stable.
Li Xia is different. When it comes to fighting, the word "fighting" should be used to describe it.
Every time, he found a way to break the deadlock... and also killed his nephew, and another nephew.
Thinking of this, Shi Tianze's eyes felt a little sore.
His eldest brother Shi Tianni died tragically at the hands of Wu Xian when he was only thirty-nine years old. At that time, three of Shi Tianni's five sons were still young and were with him. They all died in the accident, leaving only Shi Ji, Shi Quan and others.
.
In addition to the second brother Shi Tianan's son Shi Shu, these three nephews are all capable in both civil and military affairs.
Better than his eight biological sons, Shi Tianze.
Shi Shu and Shi Quan both died at the hands of Li Xia...
Shi Tianze tried his best to hide the sorrow in his eyes, maintained the majesty of the commander-in-chief, and turned his mind back to the war.
According to Tanma's report, inside and outside Dengzhou City, the Mongolian army has more than 15,000 troops, and the Song army has about 13,000 troops. This is a big battle, and the main forces of both sides have just arrived today. They have set up camps separately to test the main force.
This is as it should be.
Otherwise, the soldiers on both sides will be exhausted, and when the sky darkens after a short battle, they will have to withdraw their troops, which will only increase casualties...
"Report! Repay!"
There was a loud buzzing sound.
"Commander! The Song Army cavalry is coming..."
Dust and smoke were billowing in front of them, and Li Xia's two thousand cavalrymen were already heading this way to kill them.
Shi Tianze didn't expect Li Xia to be so crazy.
Even though he had come a long way and was still marching, with an unsteady footing and no formation in formation, he still had more than 10,000 men, and his strength was five times that of Li Xia.
And Dong Wenyong can support him at any time, but Lu Wenhuan still needs Li Xia to send troops to support him at this time.
How dare Li Xia?
Arrogant and unreasonable...
After all, Shi Tianze was a famous commander in the world. Although he was surprised and puzzled, he did not panic and quickly ordered a response.
"The Chinese army stopped marching and formed an array on the spot! Pull out the two wings and surround them..."
~~
Marching to Dengzhou, everything was different from what Lu Wenhuan expected.
Li Xia sent someone to ask for help, and what he meant was "I'll give you the credit for dragging down the Henan Mongolian army."
Normally, Lu Wenhuan arrives with his troops, Li Xia sends troops out of the city to meet them, both sides temporarily kill the enemy troops outside the city, enter the city, hand over, Li Xia leads the troops from the west or south...
But no, when we marched outside Dengzhou City today, there were so many enemy soldiers that Lu Wenhuan felt his scalp numb.
Wolf smoke, dust, blaring horns, horns, and fighting. There are Mongolian troops on all sides of Dengzhou, especially the horse scouts reported that it seems to be Shi Tianze's army in the north.
This is no joke.
He, Lu Xiaoliu, is well-known and is Lu Wende's younger brother, but he is less than forty years old this year and his qualifications are still relatively young. He thinks he is not qualified to compete with Shi Tianze.
For example, when Tachar, the Mongolian sect king, came to attack Fancheng, Lu Wenhuan could only ask Jia Sidao to support him, no matter how disdainful he was of his ability to lead troops.
Because of the different statuses of the two parties, Tachaer can make the decision in all matters, but Lu Wenhuan cannot, and he will suffer big losses in a war.
In the same way, Shi Tianze was the Xuanfu envoy of the Five Mongolian Routes and Henan and other routes, the Prime Minister on the right side of Zhongshu, and the Deputy Privy Envoy. He could mobilize far more troops than Lu Wenhuan, and he could decide strategies in a much more timely manner than him.
If he had known that Shi Tianze would come, Lu Wenhuan would never have come.
Military affairs are important matters for the country, and they are not something to take risks.
Xiangyang is the gateway to the world. Lead the troops and leave lightly, just in case...
However, Tan Ma reported that Li Xia had led two thousand cavalry to kill Shi Tianze's army.
Extremely arrogant, like crazy.
This is not how wars are fought. When two armies meet, they should first look at the situation...
Lu Wenhuan didn't know what to say.
Maybe this is the difference between a rebel and a loyal general? A rebel acts without any scruples.
~~
To the south of Dengzhou, the city gate was wide open, and a group of cavalry had come out to meet Xiangyang's troops. The general was waving a big flag with the word "Yang" in it.
The Mongolian army blocking the two Song armies was carrying a banner with the word "Dong".
The sound of drums on the top of the city raised the momentum on the battlefield to a higher level.
Yang Ben has led his cavalry to attack Dong Wenyong's line.
Although Lu Wenhuan didn't want to take risks, it didn't make sense to withdraw now.
Even if Li Xia is a rebel.
In fact, Li Fen was also a rebel, but once Li Fen expressed his willingness to join the Song Dynasty, the whole court and the public were still happy.
Unless Li Fen has become as uncontrollable as Li Quan, it is better to use Li Fen to fight the Mongols first, rather than getting rid of Li Fen first, playing into the Mongols' intentions.
Thinking about it this way, Li Xia, the prince of the county, is still a minister of Song Dynasty in name, and is at least a little better than Li Fen.
Having said that, Lu Wenhuan did not try his best in this battle.
He thinks Li Xia is too "crazy" to fight, and there is no need for him to go crazy with him...
However, less than half an hour into the battle, the big flag with the word "Dong" suddenly moved to the northeast.
Dong Wenyong actually allowed Lu Wenhuan to enter Dengzhou and went to join Shi Tianze.
Why? Lu Wenhuan doesn’t know.
Could it be that Shi Tianze's army of more than 10,000 people needed support when facing Li Xia's 2,000-horse raid?
It's too far away and I can't see it for the time being, so I can only wait for the scouting horse to report back.
Gradually, the Mongolian army in front receded like a tide, revealing the gate of Dengzhou City.
…
"Ultimate! The Qinzhou Xiongwu Army is commanding Yang Ben and welcomes General Lu into the city!"
A group of cavalry passed through Lu Wenhuan's formation. The leading general got off his horse, clasped his fists at Lu Wenhuan and shouted something, looking a little arrogant.
Lu Wenhuan's temperament was very different from Lu Wende's. He actually returned the salute with clasped fists and asked: "The military situation is urgent. No need to be polite. What happened to the north?"
"Shi Tianze is about to be repelled by the prince. Time is running out. General Lu, please enter the city as soon as possible."
Lu Wenhuan was still thinking about whether he had fallen into a trap by entering the city rashly, so he first sent a team of people into the city to investigate.
Yang Ben was impatient, but also understanding, and urged Lu Wenhuan to enter the city as soon as possible.
Until Lu Wenhuan gave the order, Yang Ben's arrogant demeanor did not diminish, and instead asked another question.
"General Lu didn't recognize me?"
Lu Wenhuan was still thinking about something, turned his head and asked lightly: "Who are you?"
"General Lu doesn't recognize me?"
"I don't recognize it."
Only then did Yang Ben realize that he had been such an inconspicuous little player in Lu Wende's army.
I had no choice but to sneer and ride away...
Lu Wenhuan secretly scolded this man for being rude. Surrounded by his own soldiers, he climbed up to the Dengzhou City Tower and waited to see what happened on the northern battlefield.
On the north bank of the Tuanhe River, people were seen rearing up and neighing, and Shi Tianze's army formation was slowly retreating to the north. Although it was retreating, it was in an orderly manner.
In comparison, Li Xia's two thousand riders were like a group of puppies, running back and forth around the formation, trying to pounce on them and take a bite, but not knowing where to start.
At this first glance, Lu Wenhuan still felt that Shi Tianze had a famous military commander's style, commanding 10,000 cavalry to advance and retreat as one man. Li Xia's time was not yet up.
But it is undeniable that Shi Tianze is retreating and Li Xia is pursuing.
"Why?"
Lu Wenhuan murmured, squinted for a while, and finally saw a black line coming farther north like a wave.
"Kill!"
"Kill..."
The cry of killing was faintly heard, and no one knew how many people there were, but the dust and smoke filled the sky and surrounded most of Shi Tianze.
After that, a big flag with the word "Zhang" appeared.
"Zhang Jue is here too?"
There seem to be more and more soldiers and horses near Dengzhou...
~~
At dusk, Shi Tianze retreated until he was between Dengzhou City and Nanyang Fucheng, and Li Xia did not dare to pursue him.
"Report! Commander, Zhang Jue's main force has been found camped in Zhaoji, west of Dengzhou."
"how many people?"
"Looking at the formation, there are at least 20,000 people."
Shi Tianze looked stern and said: "Continue to explore."
"yes."
"Report, Marshal, there is news from Nanyang Fucheng. The Song army that besieged Nanyang found out that the Marshal has returned and has retreated to join Zhang Jue's troops..."
"Zhang Jue?"
Shi Tianze muttered to himself and began to think deeply.
He was fighting with Li Xia today. Seeing the indomitable momentum of Li Xia's two thousand cavalry, he had long suspected that the other side had reinforcements.
Sure enough, just after the battle, Tan Ma reported that reinforcements from the Song Army were coming from the north, and there were also Song troops attacking Nanyang Fucheng.
At that time, for the sake of safety, he ordered a temporary retreat. There was nothing wrong with that... He has always been safe in battles.
Although avenging your nephew is important, if you are stuck in a war with tens of thousands of Song troops in Nanyang and cannot go to Shandong to quell the rebellion, it will become a rebellion...
But in the end, Zhang Jue's troops and horses had a posture of "only hearing his voice but not seeing his body".
Did the main force of the Song Army in Guanzhong move south from Wuguan Road?
After capturing Nanyang, you can go north to Kaifeng and support Li Xia.
real or fake?
It seemed that he was a suspicious soldier, and it seemed that he was doing this deliberately to ask Shi Tianze to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly.
It's hard to make a conclusion until we find out...
Shi Tianze was thinking about it and suddenly cursed.
"Damn it, Shuzi!"
Li Xia is different from him. Li Xia has full power to mobilize all the troops in Sichuan and Shaanxi. He can decide strategies much faster and more flexible than him.
In the end, he summoned his confidants and ordered: "Send a message to Luoyang and Jiezhou as quickly as possible, and ask Dong Wenbing, Ahema, and whether the main force in Guanzhong is still there..."
~~
Luoyang.
Dong Wenbing looked at the map for a long time while listening to his staff analyze the situation.
"As we expected at the beginning, Li Fen rebelled, and Li Xia indeed sent troops to cooperate. But what we didn't expect was that Li Xia sent troops not to Heluo, but to Nanyang. The cities in Nanyang were unprepared, and he actually killed him
Shi Quan angered Shi Shuai."
"It would be unwise for Commander Shi to raise an army in anger."
"It's really unwise."
"In comparison, Li Xia is too flexible in using his troops, can advance and retreat freely, and is as cunning as a fox."
"Today, I got news from Detective Horse that Zhang Jue led more than 20,000 troops and horses to Shangzhou quietly, but I don't know whether it is true or not."
"If Commander Shi is besieged by Li Xia and Zhang Jue in Nanyang, the situation in Henan will be in serious trouble."
"What if it's a suspicious soldier?"
"It's simple, let Liu Zheng find out."
"Crossing the Yellow River now? But Li Fen is not dead yet..."
"However, the Battle of Nanyang has reached this point..."