The Second Division outside Wanfeng Gate had just formed a defense. Pang Yu and Wang Zenglu each held a telescope, and Jiang Guoyong, Yang Xueshi, Guo Fengyou and others were accompanying them.
Two avenues, one north and one west, meet outside Wanfeng Gate, forming several Guanxiang streets, which are the places occupied by garrison camps. Hundreds of horsemen are scattered on the northern avenues and wilderness, and some horsemen pass through dry rice fields toward Yinding Bridge.
Approaching, looking at it from a horizontal angle, it almost blocks the view.
Wang Zenglu put down his telescope and said, "I just asked at the city gate. The commander of Pukou Camp on the city tower said that there are only these two bridges to the west, and there is another Pearl Bridge nearby, but it is on the official road to Liuhe."
"These horse soldiers are not attacking south. They want to hold us back and reduce the defensive pressure of Yinding Bridge." Pang Yu slowly moved the telescope. Those horse soldiers were only moving two hundred steps away, and occasionally they would not get close.
Will enter a hundred steps.
The landing operation of the garrison camp was sudden. Although the rogues were large in number, most of the infantry and auxiliaries were around Jiangpu. The only ones who could rush over were the horse soldiers, plus some infantry and auxiliaries from nearby camps. Therefore, the garrison camp
The strength is not at a disadvantage, but it will not necessarily be the case tomorrow. The bandits will use this night to make adjustments, as well as the Gao Scarzi who is coming. Therefore, Pang Yu also hopes to use today's favorable conditions to achieve a more favorable situation.
.
There are two bridges coming out from the west gate, the Yinding Bridge to the west and the Menghu Bridge to the northwest. After crossing the river from the Menghu Bridge, there is the official road from Jiangpu to Liuhe. In Pang Yu's far lens, the mountains in the north are continuous, and the official road of Liuhe is at
The narrow strip between rivers and mountains.
"As long as the Tiger Bridge is occupied, the road for the rogue bandits to march to Liuhe will be cut off." Pang Yu looked back and saw that the garrison battalion currently controls two key points, namely Wanfeng Gate and Yinding Bridge. Some marines are at the east end of Yinding Bridge, moving from house to house.
To clear out the rogue bandits to prevent arson, the First Division has established a bridgehead at the west end of Yinding Bridge, and the number of rogue bandits confronting them is increasing. It is roughly estimated that there are thousands of people and nearly a thousand horsemen.
The Second Division and the Guards were outside Wanfeng Gate, relying on the houses in Guanxiang, and were not afraid of the horse soldiers crossing the river.
The rogue horsemen controlled the wilderness to the north and threatened the highway connecting the two places. This divided the garrison into two non-connected parts, which were temporarily unable to move. The horsemen did not dare to attack the market. The two sides exchanged views on each other.
Have scruples.
This was not the first time that Pang Yu led an army. He was no longer as afraid of the galloping cavalry as before. As long as they relied on their positions to fight, the rogues' cavalry had no advantage. What was worrying was that if the number of rogues continued to increase, Yinding Bridge would
A company is somewhat weak and may be attacked.
How to use the remaining power in his hand determines what kind of victory he can achieve. The safest way is to wait until dark. The rogue bandits have no camp in Hedong, and there is a high probability that they can only retreat to Jiangpu to keep out the cold. Another possibility is that the rogue bandits stay overnight
Camps have been set up at Menghu Bridge and Yinding Bridge, and they will continue to threaten the garrison camp tomorrow. In this way, the garrison camp can only be limited to the area east of the Wangjiatao River and cannot rescue Jiangpu in Hexi Province.
Those assembled outside Wanfeng Gate included forty people from the Second Division, Infantry Division and Cavalry. The infantry division did not reach the nearly 400 people of the ordinary infantry division. Currently, there are only two bureaus with 230 people and armor configurations.
Mainly Mianjia, there are also some who serve in the garrison. There are less than 200 people capable of fighting, and one flag team is missing.
The total force of Wanfengmen was 700. They were restrained by the horsemen crossing the river at Menghu Bridge. He had to drive those horsemen away. In winter, many rice fields were without water, and the scope of the cavalry's activities was greatly increased. When Pang Yu thought of using infantry to drive away the cavalry, he
feel headache
"The second division is going to Yinding Bridge. How far do you think Zenglu can push the front?"
"My subordinates haven't seen West Bridge Head yet. If there are no houses along the way and we are surrounded by tens of thousands of rogue bandits, even if the rogue bandits can't defeat us, I'm afraid we won't dare to go far."
Pang Yu nodded, "What if we let you capture the Tiger Bridge?"
Wang Zenglu was not surprised, and had obviously considered this option, "Your Majesty, I know that it's not that my subordinates are afraid of the horse soldiers, it's just that their horse soldiers are scattered in the fields, and the infantry cannot catch up. If they disperse and drive them away, they are afraid of being surrounded by those horse soldiers.
It turned into a siege with more people attacking less people. If they didn't disperse, they would shoot arrows all around, fearing that there would be more casualties in vain, but not even the clothes of the cavalry soldiers were touched."
Pang Yu glanced at the sky. The sun was setting in the west at this time. "On normal days, there is really nothing we can do against these horsemen, but it is different here today, because the Tiger Bridge is their only escape route."
Hearing this, Wang Zenglu's eyes flashed. Pang Yu thought for a moment and then said, "I want you to lead the Second Division and attack the Tiger Bridge regardless of the harassment of cavalry soldiers along the way. Block them at the city wall and Wangjiatao River."
There are only a few miles between here and Wanfengmen. At night they cannot gallop, so I will mobilize various ministries to pull up nets and besiege them."
Wang Zenglu said in surprise: "The second division has all gone to Tiger Bridge. There are only more than a hundred soldiers left here. If those horse soldiers come to attack..."
Pang Yu shook his head firmly, "They will not come here because the Tiger Bridge is the only escape route. Worrying about losses will make them only see the Tiger Bridge. This is human nature."
Wang Zenglu looked at Pang Yu with a strange look. It was the kind of admiration for authority and determination. Pang Yu enjoyed this feeling very much. Although he was the commander of the garrison, he had been fighting cautiously since he led the troops. Night outside Tongcheng
The attack was based on the roar of the rogue camp, and those who died were basically servants and family members. Beixiaguan won and lost every time, all in a daze. Although the soldiers in the camp were afraid of him, it was due to the difference in administrative levels, and
I may not admire him.
This was his first real offensive battle, and he mainly used infantry to attack cavalry. Among the officers and soldiers in the late Ming Dynasty, few people could do this.
"My lord, can you assign the cavalry to the lower officials and let them serve as the vanguard, so that most of the cavalry can be cut off from the east bank."
Pang Yu hesitated instead, not expecting Wang Zenglu to be more radical than him. Attacking the Tiger Bridge would be best if he could cut off some of the rogue horse soldiers, but more importantly, he would use the situation that threatened the only retreat route to force the rogue bandits to retreat to the west bank, thus eliminating the threat from the north.
, the garrison battalion can be mobilized freely to lay a solid foundation for subsequent operations.
Now Wang Zenglu wants to use the cavalry as the vanguard to block all the rogue horse soldiers in the east of the river. The cavalry of the garrison camp is weak. When they set out from Songyang, they only gathered 70 cavalry, and there were also 30 Tangma soldiers from the personal army.
, there were only one hundred horses in total, and with the losses caused by illness, falling into the water, etc. during the delivery, less than ninety were actually usable.
At this time, there were fifty cavalry assembled outside Wanfeng Gate. Pang Yu positioned the cavalry mainly for battlefield reconnaissance, not as a decisive force, so they emphasized mobility. Their armor was all cotton armor. If they were all involved in the attack, they would not be able to defeat the cavalry before the infantry arrived.
They need to withstand the siege of the rogue cavalry on both sides of the bridge. Their number is at least seven or eight times their number. The retreat of the rogue cavalry is cut off. Under the desire to survive, the attack must be very fierce. It is foreseeable that Pang Yu's fifty cavalry will remain.
Not much.
At this time, the rogue bandits were in panic after being attacked by a surprise attack, and the planning was very chaotic. Although there were many people at Yinding Bridge, they could not organize an effective offensive, and they did not dare to retreat for a while. The horse soldiers in Hedong were obviously ordered to contain the garrison camp.
, this also restrained the horsemen, causing them to lose the mobility advantage of the cavalry.
In fact, in Pang Yu's opinion, the rogues did not need to surround Yinding Bridge. If they let go of the siege and retreated to Jiangpu, the garrison camp would have to walk more than ten miles to relieve the siege. There were not so many rivers there, and the garrison camp would easily fall into siege.
The results of using cavalry will definitely be greater, but the price is that Pang Yu will lose his reconnaissance ability on the battlefield. The advantage is that encircling and annihilating these hundreds of cavalry will greatly boost morale, and will also be of great benefit to subsequent operations.
Taking advantage of the chaos commanded by the rogue bandits and wiping out their core combat strength of several hundred cavalrymen in one fell swoop, the rogue bandits will definitely have their military morale shattered. Just like when Pang Yu suffered a blow to the head at Shucheng Pass, it would be difficult to continue military operations without losing many men.
It was just that he had only been ashore for more than an hour, and he put his only cavalry on the line, quite like a gambler.
Pang Yu hesitated. He turned to look at Mr. Hou. Mr. Hou opened his mouth and quickly buried his head again. Pang Yu did not blame him. After all, Mr. Hou was just a writer before and could not propose such a military operation.
What opinion.
Yang Xueshi's face turned a little red. After all, there were at least several hundred horsemen in front of him. His cavalry had to pass through these horsemen to intercept them and hold there until the infantry arrived. Needless to say, it was an arduous task.
Pang Yu stared into Yang Xueshi's eyes, "Can the cavalry do it?"
"Cavalry... OK, OK." After Yang Xueshi finished speaking, he nodded vigorously, "OK!"
Pang Yu looked at Chen Rulie again. The battle at Shucheng Pass reminded him of this young man. In comparison, Yang Xueshi was more conservative, while Chen Rulie was more in line with Pang Yu's expectations for cavalry.
Chen Rulie was a little nervous. He looked at Yang Xueshi first and then replied to Pang Yu, "The cavalry can only move forward, but the bandits are dispersed. If we gather a crowd to attack the official road, they will not be able to intercept it in time. But the infantry behind us must be faster, otherwise we
Can't hold the bridge."
Pang Yu laughed and said, "This is the cavalry, it just needs this kind of energy."
He turned to Jiang Guoyong and said, "Those who have horses in the suppression team will follow to help in the battle and at the same time supervise military discipline."
Guo Fengyou suddenly said, "My subordinates will bring Tangma from the personal army to go with the cavalry. We can make up twenty cavalry. We can equip them with heavy armor. It is less than three miles away. As long as we spare no effort in horse power, we can arrive with the cavalry."
Pang Yu nodded with satisfaction. Several of his men were eager to win. They were not afraid of the huge number of bandits. This was what he needed most.
Like most of his previous actions, there was no staff work, no detailed planning, and no time to think carefully. Pang Yu planned to slap his head again and put all the cavalry on hand on the first day of landing in Jiangpu.
"The ministries immediately assembled their troops. This place is about three miles away from the Tiger Bridge. The rogue horse soldiers are scattered in formation, and most of them are in the fields. They cannot increase their speed. Moreover, they must have begun to think that we are just driving them away and will delay in hesitation.
The opportunity to escape." Pang Yu jumped off his horse and drew on the ground with a sharp stone, "The personal troops are responsible for containment, the cavalry and Tangma set off along the official road first, reached the Menghu Bridge at full speed and immediately dismounted to fight, blocking the north-south traffic. In a hurry.
Following the cavalry is the second division of infantry. Commander Wang, you must select the most courageous flag detachment as the forward, deploy more shield soldiers to cover it, ignore the attacks along the way, and go straight to the Tiger Bridge. Once in position, assume the main defense.
Resist attacks from both sides and get in front of the rogues before they react. Everyone’s only goal is the Tiger Bridge. The only hope for success is speed, speed, speed!"
Wang Zenglu and others nodded at the same time, probably still a little confused, and did not leave immediately as usual. They looked at each other, then remembered to salute Pang Yu, and then returned to their troops to make arrangements.
Turning his head and looking to the west, he saw that the two artillery carriages were still parked at the west end. Because the cavalry soldiers threatened the official road, they could not rush to Yinding Bridge for the time being. Pang Yu said to the soldiers beside him, "When the attack starts, let Lu
The team will help push the artillery cart and get into position at the west end of Yinding Bridge as soon as possible. I want to use it."
…
As the sun sets in the west, the orange sunlight shines through the east-west street outside Wanfeng Gate and pulls out the figures of countless soldiers on the stone slabs.
There were several shaking shadows on the stone slab in front of Chen Rulie. The sunny west street was lined with several infantry flag teams. These infantrymen would follow the cavalry on Shangguan Road, and the second wave would rush to Menghu Bridge to support the troops in front.
Cavalry, and undertake the main defensive tasks.
Two rows of infantry were also deployed on Beitou Street. They were only used to block the sight of the rogue bandits.
The cavalry was lurking in the street south of the intersection. The houses blocked the sight of the bandits. They didn't know that so many cavalry had gathered. Yang Xueshi appointed him to lead the team as the vanguard and peeled off more than a dozen locks from the second division Tengpai player.
Zijia, Chen Rulie was assigned one piece, and time was very tight, so he put it on casually and lined up to prepare.
The infantry flag general in front of him saluted, and Chen Rulie hurriedly returned the salute, and then warned him uneasily, "Please don't delay on the way to Wu Banner. These cavalry brothers are counting on you to survive."
General Wu Qi clapped his chest in assurance, then returned to the infantry formation and gave orders to his captains.
Chen Rulie watched for a while, and almost everyone in the army recognized General Wu Qi. The last time he reported on his colleagues, the news spread throughout the army. Everyone didn't say it, but felt a little contempt in their hearts. They just heard that he was quite reliable in fighting, but this
It was not enough to dispel Chen Rulie's worries, so he warned him again and again in a very polite tone. Originally, he had been promoted to the level of Chief Hundred Commander, so he did not need to be so polite with an infantry flag general.
Returning to his horse, the horse was a little restless, so Chen Rulie patted its neck to comfort it.
The horses around him snorted from time to time. Chen Rulie looked back and saw that the riders waiting behind him all looked pale. These more than seventy cavalrymen would pass through hundreds of rogue horse soldiers and reach the Tiger Bridge first, cutting off the remaining riders.
The only channel, and then cooperate with the infantry to surround and annihilate the horsemen.
His own fingers were trembling a little, and he tightened his grip on the horse's reins to relieve some relief. There was a commotion from the side, and he glanced over. Looking over from the top of the eaves, he could see the majestic Wanfeng Gate. The angle of the tower was clearly visible, and the guard above
The soldiers looked at the situation below and knew that there should be a big move, and many people pointed in this direction.
Yang Xueshi, who was conducting in front, made a pushing gesture with both hands.
Chen Rulie took a breath, turned around and shouted, "Cavalry, prepare!"
There was a rustling sound behind, and all the riders adjusted their cotton skirts and armor, stepped on the stirrups with their left feet, grabbed the saddle with one hand, and were ready to mount their horses.
After a moment, Yang Xueshi raised his hands.
Chen Rulie turned around and shouted, "Cavalry, mount up!"
The fifty cavalrymen mounted their horses neatly. The pond horses behind them did not have such step-by-step training and seemed a bit chaotic.
After Chen Rulie finished the inspection, he mounted his horse and stepped on the stirrups. He looked beyond the human wall in front and could see the red-clothed bandits on the official road outside between the spears.
The horses on the street felt the atmosphere of a battle. From time to time, a horse would tread lightly on the spot, making scattered hoofbeats.
The Puzikou guards who were watching on the tower stopped giving instructions and waited quietly for the drama that followed. All the riders held their breaths and waited for the final instructions.
There was a desolate sound of the conch trumpet, the cavalry's triangular red flag was raised, and the spearmen in front who acted as a human wall quickly moved to both sides, revealing the empty street.
Under the gaze of everyone, Chen Rulie gritted his teeth, raised his right hand high and waved it violently.