Chapter 4230 Forming an array to resist the enemy
The majestic Xuanwu Gate stands high on Longshou Plain. Looking up from the bottom up, the towering tower seems to have pierced the dark sky. The gurgling rain makes this gateway to Tai Chi Palace even more mysterious. The high mountains stand tall, and the Yue Town is the majesty of Jiuzhou.
Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong, both wearing bamboo hats and raincoats, stood on the city tower, looking at the Tai Chi Palace in the dark night and rain. The lights illuminated this most noble palace in the world, which was less majestic and more solemn. Somewhat peaceful and comfortable.
However, behind this tranquility illuminated by lights, there is another direct struggle for imperial power since the founding of the Tang Empire. Who wins and who loses, who lives and who dies, is no different from that night more than ten years ago.
The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit.
Li Xiaogong turned around. Under the city tower at the rear were the military camps of the left and right guards. The lights in the right camp were brightly lit. Cavalry scouts could be vaguely seen coming and going from the camp gate, and there were many people in the camp.
Zuotunwei was completely dark, with only a few lanterns swaying in the darkness. The entire army had rushed to the Bashui line to set up defenses, and only a few soldiers were left to guard the camp.
Li Xiaogong remained silent, the rain dripping from the edge of the bamboo hat, making his vision a little blurry and his mood becoming more depressed and irritable.
The lights on the city walls on both sides were brightly lit, and groups of "Yuan Cong Forbidden Army" with helmets and armor were standing in the wind and rain. Their swords were still in their scabbards and their arrows were unstrung, but the strong murderous aura had permeated the entire Xuanwu Gate. With a single command, he can unleash a thunderous strike like a hunting beast.
After a long time, Li Xiaogong said in a deep voice: "Have you considered it?"
Li Daozong stood in front of the arrow stack with his hands behind his hands, overlooking the brilliantly lit Tai Chi Palace under the rain curtain, and said calmly: "There is nothing to consider. We have been deeply favored by the late emperor, and we should repay our bodies by being broken into pieces. Even if the late emperor has passed away at this moment, We must also abide by his legacy, otherwise how will Jiuquanxia have the face to face the late emperor in the future? ”
Li Xiaogong sighed and remained silent again.
There is no doubt that Zhenguan Xunchen is loyal to His Majesty Li Er, but whether His Majesty Li Er is alive or dead, this loyalty will inevitably change.
If His Majesty Li Er was still there, no one would dare to rebel. Even after his death, the Guanlong clan headed by Changsun Wuji would only dare to raise troops in the name of deposing the prince, and then depose the prince and establish a new prince. The Tang Dynasty would still be the same country. In the Tang Dynasty, the successor king must also be the heir of His Majesty Li Er.
Loyalty and reverence have been deeply ingrained in the hearts of Zhenguan Xunchen, and they dare not forget or violate them.
But now that His Majesty Li Er has passed away and the new emperor has ascended the throne, when the loyalty to His Majesty Li Er goes against the interests of the new emperor and even the entire world...
Loyal or unfaithful?
Li Xiaogong himself didn't know the answer, so he didn't force Li Daozong on what to do, but tried to persuade him as much as possible.
But obviously, his persuasion had no effect. Li Daozong had made up his mind and chose to remain loyal to His Majesty Li Er and his legacy.
Is it right or wrong?
Li Xiaogong himself didn't know.
*****
It was about to dawn, and the rain gradually stopped. Qu Tuquan rode his horse in front with a helmet and armor. Behind him, five thousand infantrymen waded through the muddy water and rushed on the road. Not far away on the right was the undulating Lishan Mountain. On the left were ten Yu Li is gone Looking at the flowing Ba River from a distance, another army is echoing and advancing hand in hand along the right bank of the Ba River. The pine oil torches burning in the rain are like a long dragon, menacing and murderous.
More than 100,000 troops lined up along the Wei River, Ba River, and Chan River to defend Chang'an. They only had to withstand Yuchi Gong's sudden attack and wait for the navy to capture Luoyang and Hangu from behind Tongguan and cut off its retreat. They could attack from both front and back and launch a massive counterattack, defeating the rebels who gathered in Tongguan in one fell swoop, and putting an end to the rebellion.
However, the purpose of marching is to attack while defending, to defend while attacking, and to move freely between virtual and actual advance and retreat, rather than blindly defending and allowing the enemy to launch an offensive, so as to maximize the strength and combat power of the army.
Therefore, in addition to arranging a defensive line to secure Chang'an, Qu Tuquan led an army of Donggong Sixth Army and Chai Zhewei led most of Zuotun Guard. The two armies started from Baqiao and protruded from the entire defense line, along the mountains of Lishan Mountain. They rushed towards Xinfeng from Guandao, trying to build defenses in Xinfeng to slow down the enemy's surprise attack so that they could not go all out to attack the Chang'an defense line.
When it got daylight, the two armies marched together and were not far from Xinfeng. Along the way, scouts came and went, constantly reporting back the enemy's movements.
"Report! The enemy has arrived at Xinfeng. The defenders in the city surrendered without a fight. Xinfeng fell!"
"Report! The enemy troops have been reorganized in Xinfeng and have left the city to attack westward."
"The general is Yuchi Gong, and his subordinates are all elite Youhou Guards, numbering between 20,000 people!"
……
Xinfeng is to the south of Lishan Mountain. At this moment, Qu Tuquan and Chai Zhewei have led their troops to bypass Lishan Mountain and arrive dozens of miles west of Xinfeng Mountain. Lishan Mountain is to the north.
Hearing that the enemy's army numbered more than 20,000, Qu Tuquan was determined. Wu Qiandonggong Liu's elite troops on his side, plus the more than 10,000 troops led by Chai Zhewei this time, were already close to 20,000. Twenty thousand were against them. Twenty thousand, even if Yuchi Gong is famous and brave, and his soldiers are even braver, he only needs to take a defensive position to slow down the opponent's advance, which is enough for a battle.
Qu Tuquan immediately ordered the entire army to stop advancing, and sent people to Chai Zhewei to discuss stopping the advance, where he waited for the enemy's arrival. In his opinion, Chai Zhewei is more than defensive but not aggressive enough. He would probably not dare to continue to advance and engage in an encounter with the enemy's field forwards. However, if he is ready to defend the road to Chang'an, there should be no problem.
Again, the two armies on our side are horns and coordinate with each other. Their strength is comparable to that of the enemy. As long as they fight steadily, even if they cannot win a complete victory, they can still greatly slow down the enemy's speed. Even if they show defeat, You can also retreat calmly and complete Li Jing's previous order.
Soon, Chai Zhewei wrote back, and he indeed agreed with Qu Tuguan's suggestion, and told Qu Tuguan that the two armies should maintain communication. If Qu Tuguan's side couldn't stand it, he must send a message to him, so that the two armies could advance and retreat together to avoid being defeated by the enemy. Take advantage of the situation to pursue and defeat them one by one.
Qu Tuquan immediately ordered the construction of fortifications on the spot, placed all the deer villages and horses he carried, and arranged the troops in formation to wait for work.
The rain was pouring all the time, and the simple cement on the official road had been trampled to pieces, mud was splashing, and the road conditions were extremely bad. This would greatly slow down the enemy's charge, which would be more beneficial to the defending side.
Qu Tuquan was young but had a calm personality. He also had a family background in military tactics and strategy. The temporary defensive formations he constructed were decent. In view of the fact that both Li Siwen and Cheng Chubi were defeated and captured, allowing the enemy to advance straight in, there was no doubt that Qu Tuquan was young. Not daring to be careless, he personally commanded the formation in the rain, constantly boosting the morale of the troops.
With the right time, right place, and right people, Qu Tuquan was confident of holding on to his position and thwarting the enemy's offensive. At the very least, he had to slow down the enemy's advance, and then slowly retreat to the vicinity of Baqiao to redeploy his defenses.
A north wind blew, and the rain gradually became heavier. The cold air made the soldiers arrayed in the rain tremble.
"Report! The enemy has been here for twenty miles!"
"Report! The enemy's forward three thousand light cavalry have separated from the group and are coming at full speed!"
"Report! The enemy has arrived one mile away and is charging at full speed!"
……
As the messages came one after another, the soldiers in the front line had already faintly felt the vibration of the earth under their feet. Under the rain, a black line came from far to near, rushing towards them.
A charge formation composed of thousands of light cavalry suddenly jumped into sight amid the rain. Their leather armors were crossed and they were galloping at full speed, arriving close by almost in the blink of an eye.
"The crossbowmen are ready, release!"
collapse!
There was a sound of bow strings, and a round of arrows rose into the sky, penetrating the rain curtain, drawing a parabola and falling into the charging enemy formation.
Puff puff puff! Even if the bowstring is damp and the tension is greatly reduced on rainy days, the arrows fired carry inertia from top to bottom and can still easily penetrate the leather armor of the light cavalry. The triangular arrow clusters penetrate into the bodies of soldiers and war horses, killing and injuring them.
Herod!
There was a scream of war horses, and dozens of charging horses fell down, causing their companions behind them to be affected and stumbled. There was a period of chaos in the charging array, but the remaining soldiers ignored the loss of their horses and pressed their bodies tightly against the horses to reduce the pain. force area, constantly urging the war horse to continue to accelerate.
"Let it go!"
The second round of arrows flew into the sky again, and then fell into the enemy's formation.
"Let it go!"
Three rounds of arrow rain caused great damage to the charging light cavalry, but they failed to completely destroy the enemy's charging array. After three rounds of arrow rain, countless horse hooves trampled on the ground, causing slight vibrations. The running horses were soaked and their speed was increased to the limit. , slamming headlong into the Luzhai and Juma arrayed in front of the defenders' formation.
Another two cavalry formations quickly broke away from the main group, and launched a surprise attack on both sides of the defenders' array behind Luzhai and Juma.
The battle became intense in an instant. (End of chapter)