On the second day of May in the fourth year of Qianning, the situation in Chen Xu became increasingly tense.
In the direction of Caishui, Zhu Quanzhong personally led the Changzhi, Feisheng, Xiongwei, Controlling Crane, Tabai and other troops all the way north. They resisted the harassment of more than 2,000 horsemen from the Dingnan Army and moved very fast. By the evening of the same day, they set up camp and stopped. , it is already less than a hundred miles away from Fugou.
The attacking Dingnan Army suffered relatively heavy casualties. It can be expected that Zhu's army will speed up in the next few days.
This battlefield, which Shao Shude calls the Caishui battlefield, is mainly focused on harassment and delay. At present, he has ordered the rest of the Dingnan Army to go south as soon as possible to join the main force and increase the delay and harassment of Zhu's main force.
The direction of Bianzhou was basically abandoned. Only more than 9,000 guards and soldiers were left to monitor, collect grain, and maintain a sense of presence.
In addition to escorting the supplies of grain and grass, the Tiande Army and the Shunyi Army on the way will also send a unit eastward to monitor Zhu Zhen's Department.
Zhu Zhen's Caozhou Army is indeed a great threat. First of all, it has more than 20,000 veterans who are good at fighting. Secondly, it has strong appeal in nearby areas and can get responses from local states and counties. A few days ago, he sent envoys to Huazhou. Several counties that originally had the summer fall rebelled again. If this person's behavior had not been a bit strange, the siege of Bianzhou might have been resolved.
In the direction of Yancheng, it may be a little difficult for Ding Hui to evacuate.
When Pang Shigu retreats, Yingshui is his friend and can stop the pursuers. Dante will retreat, but he has to find a way to cross Yingshui. No matter whether he goes north or east, he can't get around it.
Moreover, Zhe Zongben and Ding Hui have been enemies for many years. When sleeping, he almost always stares at Ding Hui with one eye open. The Weisheng Army was mobilized to attack the camps and cities of the Youguo Army. Of course, the Weisheng Army would not be idle. The offensive and defensive battles between the two sides were very fierce, with casualties on each other. The entanglement was much more intense than that of Li Tangbin and Pang Shigu.
Yesterday, nearly 20,000 people from Tianzhu Army and Tu Tuan Countrymen had moved south and camped behind Yancheng. They were with Weisheng Army to the southeast and northwest, tightly clamping down on the Youguo Army to prevent them from retreating.
Bianzhou, Caishui, and Yancheng are the three secondary battlefields.
Of course, being secondary doesn't mean it's unimportant, nor does it mean there aren't many enemies being held back, it just means that the priority of destroying it is not high.
Xuzhou has always been the main battlefield. No, on the first day of May, Shao Shude even left the battlefield in person and led his cavalry troops southward in a mighty manner, galloping to the southeast of Xuzhou.
On the second day of May, more than 5,000 people from the Zhongwu Army and more than 3,000 Changshe Xiangyong arrived and set up camp with more than 8,000 people from the Feilong Army.
In one and a half days, despite various obstacles, the Long Sword Army had actually advanced forty miles and was only twenty miles away from Xuzhou City.
Shao Shude was a little surprised by the path chosen by the Long Sword Army.
According to the news received yesterday, the Changjian Army first went north, moved closer to Pang Shigu's tribe, and then advanced together. But in fact, they turned onto the Xu-Cai Post Road at night and took a shortcut directly to Xuzhou.
After the Rangers made the investigation, the Feilong Army, which was originally guarding the Youguo Army in the direction of Yancheng, immediately adjusted its combat mission and set up camp on the spot. The Zhongwu Army also received the order, and brothers Zhao Lu and Zhao Yan urgently led their troops south to intercept the Changjian Army.
At this point, Liang Jun on the battlefield has been divided into several large pieces.
The first battle started was on the Yingdong front.
The Administrative Army spent a whole morning crossing over two thousand soldiers, one thousand auxiliary soldiers, and three hundred cavalry, and then stormed the Kuang Wei camp.
The remaining rebels did not expect the Xia soldiers to arrive so quickly and with such determination. After a brief resistance, they mounted their horses and mules and fled in various directions.
The cavalry conducted a symbolic pursuit, the auxiliary soldiers stayed to count the supplies, and the soldiers continued to meet the people crossing the river.
In Yingqiao Town, slightly north, the National Protectorate Army crossing the river was counterattacked by the Jianrui Army.
Feng Zangzhi stood on a high platform on the west bank of the river and observed carefully. On the bank of the river, dozens of sergeants were shouting in unison.
"Pang Shigu has run away!"
"You have become a scapegoat!"
"Pang Shigu doesn't regard you as his own at all!"
"Surrender, King Xia Rende, don't kill the prisoners."
"You can't run away. Xuzhou is in my hands, where can you run?"
"If we fight to the death and don't surrender, we won't leave even an inch of grass behind!"
Inside the Jianrui Army camp, Zhang Jun and Guo Shaobin looked at each other.
To be honest, they didn't want to fight. In the Battle of Heqing, so many old brothers died, but there was no explanation.
It has been a year since they were transferred to Xuzhou, and there have been heavy casualties. What kind of rotten people have been replaced? There are a large number of rural warriors with low morale, although the morale of the Jianrui Army is not much higher.
"What do the military envoys think about what the Xia people said?" Zhang Jun asked.
"Nine times out of ten it's true." Guo Shaobin sighed and said, "Here comes someone!"
The general came over quickly.
"Send someone to check to see if Pang Shigu is still there."
"As commanded."
The two continued to watch.
The Xia people were still building the pontoon bridge, but the Jianrui soldiers who blocked it were obviously affected. People kept looking back, and there was a lot of noise.
Guo Shaobin was so angry that he punched the wooden fence.
Generally speaking, sergeants will not be affected by the enemy's words. However, if the battle is unwinnable for a long time and all kinds of unfavorable news continue to come and are confirmed one by one afterwards, they will be more or less affected.
What's more, the Jianrui Army is a foreign brand, and has been severely criticized for a long time. Its morale is not very high, and the impact is even deeper.
This battle is a fart! The reason why the two of them are still insisting is just to "die" clearly. If Pang Shigu really runs away, even if it is later confirmed that they are retreating with alternate cover, they are not prepared to accompany Pang Shigu
Now that we're down, is it fun to be the pursuer? Why should you leave first?
"Report, the Xia thieves Dingyuan's army has crossed the river with more than a thousand men and are outflanking them." Suddenly a scout came to report.
"How dare more than a thousand people be so arrogant?" Zhang Jun laughed angrily and said, "Wang Yugou is quite timid. Are you not afraid of surrounding him and killing him?"
Guo Shaobin grabbed Zhang Jun and sighed: "My dear brother, let him go."
Zhang Jun was stunned at first, and then thought about the future dejectedly.
Not to mention the newly recruited Xiangyong of the Jianrui Army, most of the remaining veterans are from the five states of Cao, Pu, Yan, Yun, and Xu. Most of their families live in Bian and Cao states. If possible, they are unwilling to surrender. But if the Xia people
Occupying Bian, where is Cao? Now it seems that the possibility is not small, so the obstacles to surrender are not that big.
"Wait slowly." After Guo Shaobin said this, he closed his eyes to rest and said nothing again.
****
On the first day of May, the Dingyuan Army crossed the river more than ten miles north of Yingqiao Town.
At first, he was unable to lift his head due to the arrows fired by the hero from the opposite side, and some people kept screaming and falling into the water.
Finally, three to four hundred people came over, almost all of them were injured and described as miserable.
Hundreds of rebels and warriors retreated in front of the trench gate and continued to shoot arrows. On top of the village walls and enemy towers, there were many archers shooting from a high position. They did not need to rush to fight. According to the usual practice, they did not need to wait too long. The Jianrui Army Brigade
The men and horses will arrive soon. When all parties join forces and gather five to six thousand people on horseback, it will be easy to kill hundreds of Xia people's remaining soldiers.
Wang Yu looked back at the ship that had just returned to the other side, and said: "Everyone, the ship has gone back to pick up reinforcements. I can't help you in a hurry. If the thieves join forces and press us, we will all die without a burial place. There are enemies in front, and enemies behind us.
There is no way out, no turning back.”
Everyone was an elite soldier who had been in the war for a long time. They knew that the envoy was telling the truth and nodded their heads one after another.
"Whoosh!" An arrow shot out, hitting Wang Yu's left forearm.
Wang Yu coughed twice with a flushed face, and said angrily: "The traitor is about to die, but he doesn't know it. You guys follow me to camp, and you must kill the person who shot me."
After that, he rushed out first. The soldiers were so anxious that they took a few steps quickly and held their shields in front of him.
More than 300 soldiers saw that the glorious military envoy dared to personally charge and kill them, and they expressed their admiration. More than 200 people who could still move took weapons and roared forward.
In just a few dozen steps, the arrows became more dense, and people kept falling. Wang Yu was like a magnet, his whole body "covered" with white feathers.
"Let you shoot me!" With one stab, the soldier fell silently in front of him.
"Kill!" More than a hundred Dingyuan Army soldiers swarmed up from behind, armed with swords, axes, and spears.
The thieves abandoned their bows in panic, replaced them with spears, and fought and retreated.
"Did you shoot me?" Wang Yu, wearing heavy armor, rushed forward desperately and stabbed me again.
Before the bandit could reply, Chang Yan had already slipped through the gap in the nail leaves and killed him with one blow.
"Did you shoot it?" Wang Yu couldn't pull out the gun, so he simply threw it away. He took a Changke ax and chopped it down hard.
The head was flying high and the mouth was still wide open.
"Did you shoot it?" He slashed with the ax again, and the thieves in front of him retreated hastily, but they were still hit hard in the neck.
"Don't you dare to stand up if you don't dare to stand up?" Wang Yu's helmet was chopped off by the thieves' sword in the chaos, and he was also hit by an arrow on his head. All his hair was spread out. At this time, his face was filled with tears.
There was blood, his hair was disheveled, and his long Ke ax was stained with blood, and he looked like an evil ghost.
When the soldiers saw how brave the envoys were, their morale was so high that they tried their best to fight to the death. Soon, hundreds of warriors who blocked them were defeated and fled in all directions.
"Did you shoot it?" Wang Yu grabbed a local military officer and asked angrily.
"General, calm down." The man's face was pale and he said tremblingly: "I saw that the general's armor was exquisite. He must be a thief and a nobleman, so I shot an arrow."
"It's really you!" Wang Yu said angrily: "I pulled it out."
The man had the courage to pull out the arrow. Wang Yu sneered, drew out the iron sword from his waist, and slashed it into the man's head with a click.
The iron sword did not cut off the thief's neck for a moment, and blood spurted out like a fountain, dripping everywhere.
Wang Yu cut off the head a few more times, then held it in his hand and strode into the camp.
The afternoon sun shone on the earth and shone on the two hundred Dingyuan Army generals who rushed into the camp. The blood-red light pierced people's minds and made them panic.
"Bang!" Someone threw the equipment and said with a trembling voice: "Don't kill me, surrender."
"Down, down!" More people threw their equipment.
Wang Yu strode forward, kicked several people over in succession, and sneered: "You have the guts to shoot arrows from a distance, but don't you have the guts to fight up close?"
Everyone avoided his gaze and did not dare to look directly.
"Bang!" The head was hit hard against the camp wall.
Two hundred soldiers stood in the camp, covered in blood and all wounded.
All the warriors from more than a thousand liang villages fell to the ground and did not dare to move.
On this day, Wang Yu’s Dingyuan Army was not the only one who crossed the river. The Jinglue, Dingyuan, Huguo, and Guide troops crossed the river in total, nearly ten thousand people. Due to the lack of unified command and mutual reinforcement, coupled with Pang Shigu’s escape,
The news from Lu was confirmed, and Liang Jun's Yingdong defense line collapsed.
The Xiangyong were scattered everywhere, running for their lives and in a state of panic. The situation that Pang Shigu expected to delay Xia's army for three or four days never happened from the beginning.
Later that day, the Jianrui Army, which had planned to retreat on the third day of May, surrendered. Li Tangbin ordered him to perform meritorious service and pursue Pang Shigu.
The great retreat seemed to inevitably turn into a great rout. Perhaps they had no chance of a successful retreat in the first place, and no matter how hard they struggled, they could not change their fate.
