The desolate ancient post road leads into the distance, with overgrown weeds that have taken over almost half of the road.
The reeds plucked near the water swayed in the wind, and the egret flew lightly and landed on the water plants in the river.
In front of the lonely farmhouse, the farmer opened the firewood door and walked towards the fields.
Inside the bamboo fence, a peasant woman was arranging the taupe leaves and weaving them carefully.
In the vegetable patch, a child is using oranges to fetch water and water the winter vegetables.
In the mulberry forest, the domestic dogs chased the hens until they flew away.
The rapid sound of horse hooves broke the tranquility of the countryside.
A large number of ferocious warriors suddenly arrived and drove in a group of men who looked like merchants.
The peasant woman was horrified, the child was crying loudly, and the domestic dog was whimpering with its tail between its legs.
The farmer who hurried home clutched his hoe tightly and looked frightened.
"Don't worry!" Fu Cunshen got off his horse, walked in, and said warmly, "We are just passing by."
After that, he asked the soldiers to bring a piece of silk and put it on the plaited mat.
"Please prepare some food for these people." He pointed at the seven or eight merchants who looked unlucky and said.
The farmer nodded subconsciously and said: "We only have simple food and food. There is a war and chaos outside, and the government is in a hurry to urge classes..."
"It's okay." Fu Cunzhen turned around and left, then said to a group of sergeants standing outside the door: "Watch these people, don't let any of them go."
When the army crossed the border, the riders scattered in all directions, catching any pedestrians they saw and keeping them under unified supervision.
Obviously, they don't want others to know their whereabouts.
The sound of horse hoofbeats sounded again, and Fu Cunshen had led the large group of people away.
The domestic dog rushed to the fence and barked twice.
The warrior outside the door glared at it, and the domestic dog hid in the thatch in the backyard with its tail between its legs, whining.
On the ancient road, a large group of warriors were marching.
The flowers and plants that grew so greedily on the road were trampled into dust and mud.
Among the decaying grass on both sides, sentries and horses flickered in and out, galloping back and forth.
The large army stretched to the distant horizon, seemingly endless, like thousands of troops.
The cavalryman brought the horse to the grass.
The war horse snorted, sniffed the dead grass on the ground, and turned its head in disgust.
The cavalryman smiled and took out the cooked beans and fed them carefully.
The ponytail kept swaying, looking very happy.
Wang Jianji galloped past like a gust of wind, arrived in front of the old tree on the original site, dismounted his horse and paid homage: "Envoy, the bandits have begun to cross the river this morning. The scouts did not dare to get too close. They only took a few cursory glances. There should be ten thousand people."
There are many carriages, horses and baggage on the left and right, and the crossing of the river is very slow."
"Your helmet is crooked, how can you behave properly?" Li Tangbin scolded him, then asked, "Can we contact the Tianxiong Army?"
Wang Jianji secretly sighed at the bad luck. The military envoys were very strict in running the army, and they did not even carry their armor in their tents in the winter. This was a perfect match for the arrogant ceremony of the Tianxiong Army. They were also called the two "harsh generals", but the commander-in-chief still refused.
I appreciate them very much, and they are constantly rewarded with horses, horses, and beauties.
"Tianxiong Army Zang Jun sent out reconnaissance cavalry in all directions, peeping constantly, and the army mobilized frequently, as if the generals were fighting."
Li Tangbin nodded.
It's not "like a war", it's really preparing for a war.
When a general uses troops, he always prepares them with both hands. If you have regular troops coming, I will greet them with regular troops.
Li Tangbin suddenly spread out the map and examined it carefully.
We are less than thirty miles away from the main force of the bandit army, so their whereabouts should not be exposed yet.
The Tianxiong Army did indeed do a good job. They were peeping, harassing, and preparing for war. The bandits were eager to return home. Their attention must have been attracted there long ago, and they spent the whole day thinking about how to defeat the Tianxiong Army.
, various plans were drawn up.
The Tianzhu Army set off earlier than the main force. They advanced without fanfare and light equipment. They arrested anyone they saw on the road. They dispersed their cavalry far apart and were careful not to alert anyone.
Hao Zhenwei had previously focused all his attention on Wang Bian. Now he was so anxious to relieve Tongzhou that he could not care about other directions. He never thought that their troops would come from the south bank of the Wei River.
Li Tangbin asked his soldiers to put away their horses, blankets, and maps. The time was ripe and Hao Thief would be defeated tomorrow.
…
On both sides of the Wei River, people screamed and screamed, turning into a pot of porridge.
The groom waved his riding crop vigorously, with an anxious look on his face.
The horse was covered in sweat, its huge ribs opened and closed, and its whole body was tense, dragging the heavy cart.
Next to it was a baggage vehicle with a broken axle.
The horse harness has been taken off and the draft horse has been led away. The carriage is leaning on the side of the road, and the auxiliary soldiers are hurriedly packing up the military supplies.
A little further away, there are people burying pots for cooking.
Rows of urns were placed on the ground, smoke was lingering, and the aroma of rice was fragrant.
Occasionally, cavalrymen passed by, raising large amounts of dust, and the sergeants sitting on the ground by the roadside cursed.
The river has not yet frozen, the pontoon bridge has been built, and the Tongzhou Army, eager to return home, is crossing the river in large numbers.
Thousands of people, plus the baggage, had to cross the bridge, which would not be completed in a day or two. At this time, it had just entered the busiest and most chaotic moment.
Hao Zhenwei was very cautious. He divided the only more than a thousand cavalry into two groups. One group monitored Huazhou, because Wang Bian had 500 cavalry recruited on the grassland and could not give them a chance. The other group had already crossed the river and headed north.
Spread the defense line far away and push back the Tianxiong Army's scouts.
The Shao thieves had obviously stepped up their vigilance, and it was already difficult to find out information from Tongzhou, even though Hao Zhenwei had sent most of his scouts to the north to try his best to gather information.
"Xilulu..." A draft horse was overwhelmed and fell to its knees in pain.
The auxiliary soldiers escorting the transport came up from behind, and the grooms kicked and beat them, but to no avail.
"Change another one..." The auxiliary sergeant was about to say something when he saw smoke and dust filling the air to the west, and the ground was shaking.
"Where did the cavalry come from?" Many people turned their attention to the west almost at the same time.
What appeared in the field of vision were several scouts who were racing back frantically.
They were covered in blood, as if they had gone through a brutal fight, and everyone was injured. As they ran, one of them fell off his horse, and there was no more sound.
Behind the scouts were a large group of cavalrymen holding horses.
They drove their horses faster and faster, their blades shining with cold light, and they rushed towards a scattered river-crossing camp like demons.
"Form up!" An officer galloped over and ordered loudly.
The sergeant sitting on the ground was shocked and angry.
What do the generals do? They are guarding against Wang Bian and Shao Shude. They are guarding against each other. Whose is this cavalry that suddenly appears? Could it be from the imperial court?
The war horses are getting closer and closer.
The officers hastily found hundreds of sergeants and formed a gun formation. But the spears and armors of more people were placed on the vehicles. After all, you can't take these things with you when you are marching, right?
The cavalry rushed in like a torrent, and the long spearmen who blocked them were like a solid rock in the flood. The flood flowed past them, bypassing them without fighting, and rushed straight towards the chaotic camp at the rear.
The masters dispersed in a hurry.
The auxiliary soldiers hid behind the chariot, looking for shields and spears.
The soldiers drew out their bow tips and frantically strung their bows.
More than a thousand cavalry rushed past, knocking down the standing people like felling trees.
When marching and fighting, the most fearful thing is not how many people die, but the chaos of the organization. The former can gather the defeated troops and fight again, but the latter can no longer make a comeback.
A large group of infantry also appeared in the west.
They waved flags and beat war drums. Thousands of people marched quickly in columns, maintaining their physical strength while trotting all the way.
In fact, there was no need to be so cautious, because as the war drums were beating, many people on the Tongzhou Army side had already begun to flee.
They fought over the narrow pontoon crossing, throwing fists at each other and even drawing swords to cut each other.
Everyone knows that as long as you get on the pontoon bridge, it will be safe to escape to the other side. But the pontoon bridge is so big, and it is still crowded for normal passage. Small accidents happen from time to time. Nowadays, there are so many irrational masters and sergeants everywhere that it is almost impossible to talk about it.
on any traffic efficiency.
Someone screamed and held his broken arm, looking at the old man with a knife in disbelief.
Some people were pushed off the bridge and threw themselves unwillingly into the cold Wei River.
More than a hundred riders reined up their horses and turned around, waving their horseshoes and herding people toward the pontoon like sheep.
There were more and more people on the bridge, and they were getting more and more excited. There were constant splashing sounds on both sides, and people fell into the river like dumplings, and soon there was no sound.
"Crash!" The overwhelmed pontoon fell apart, and desperate people were tearing each other apart and crying.
The man who fell into the water clung to the side of the boat with all his strength, but the man on the boat chopped him off with a knife, and all his fingers were severed.
Someone's lips turned blue from the cold, and he begged, but the answer was an ax in the face.
Some people were not willing to die like this, so they directly grabbed the people on the boat and dragged them down the river on their backs before they died.
Dozens of horsemen roared over, placing their heavy horses in the soft soil of the river bank, drawing their bows and shooting.
There was no shelter on the pontoon, and the screams were endless.
…
On the north bank of the Wei River, a large group of soldiers stood in strict formation, holding guns.
They silently looked at the chaotic South Bank Ferry, feeling very happy in their hearts.
If someone else crosses the river first, then you will be the one who collapses into the river.
One general is incompetent and kills three armies!
Defense against Wang Bian of Huazhou, air defense!
Defense against Luonan Shuo Fang Army, air defense!
Sending a large number of scouts to the direction of Tongzhou is simply a useless effort!
The four thousand cavalrymen who had crossed the river were all equipped with spears, and each had one hand, but they were severely lacking in shields and armor.
The bow tips are all brought, but there are not enough arrows, usually more than ten, and there is not a single spare bow string.
There is a serious shortage of firewood-picking and rice-making utensils, and then you eat vinegar cakes that are as hard as rocks every day?
Many people who have just crossed the river have no place to stay. Their tents and quilts are still on the south bank. Are they sleeping outside in the middle of winter?
The most fatal thing is that there is not much food and grass transported across the river, so it cannot last long.
Being ambushed while marching is the most deadly, and being attacked while crossing a river is almost the same.
Wang Chao, the military commander in the left wing of Tongzhou, looked across the Wei River at the tragic situation on the other side and wanted to cry but had no tears.
Even if they stormed Huazhou City, they would not suffer such heavy losses!
Thousands of people disrupted the organization and were killed wantonly. The cold Wei River became the burial place of countless soldiers from the same state.
More than half of the troops were lost, all the baggage was lost, there was insufficient food, grass, and equipment, and morale was severely damaged. Can this battle still be fought?
From the beginning to the end, Prince Shao Lingwu led him by the nose. Heavy troops were gathered on both sides of the Luoshui River. They came and went with you. The scouts and rangers fought fiercely. The troops were mobilized frequently. It looked like a big battle was about to happen. As a result, they were killed by the Wei River.
You came here on the sly.
What a light weight!
This is like two armies marching towards each other, preparing for battle. One of them only marched twenty miles a day, and they were so loud that even a blind man could see the movement. However, they secretly sent light troops to advance rapidly, marching fifty miles a day, and suddenly,
Kill in front of you and catch you off guard.
Defeated! Our army was defeated! Wang Chao mounted his horse sadly.
When Shuozhou fought against Xue Zhiqin, the king of Lingwu County was the supervisor of the army envoy Qiu Weidao. He fought side by side with us, and he was from the Tiande Army, so he should have a close relationship with me.
The Tongzhou Army is also from the Tiande faction, so there is no need to kill them all, and there is no need for us to resist desperately. I just don’t know what the commander-in-chief will think.