Chapter 4260: Forced Crossing of Ba River (Part 2)
Under the darkness of night, 20,000 soldiers and horses were marching at full speed. The whole army did not hear a single order, only the sound of people and horses stepping on the ground as they marched. This is evident from the fact that Yuchi Gong, a veteran general who has fought hundreds of battles, is rigorous in running the army.
Arriving at the bank of Ba River, the sound of the rushing river completely covered up the sound of the march. The front troops stopped to prepare for a possible sudden attack on the other side, while the heavy troops in the rear quickly moved forward and quickly and neatly set up a pontoon bridge.
Dark clouds gather, there are no stars or moon, and the river flows and moans.
Yuchi Gong led his elite Chen soldiers to the east bank of Ba River. He felt a little nervous when he saw the shadowy shadow of the heavy troops setting up a pontoon bridge on the river. Although the information on our side has been strictly blocked from the beginning of the assembly, to the departure of camp, the dispatch of troops, the march, and the arrival here, Cheng Yaojin on the other side has some rough and tumble details, and he does not dare to expect that his troops will be discovered before he comes to his barracks.
But as long as we can delay it for a moment and build the pontoon bridge one more foot forward, we will be able to cross the Ba River as quickly as possible when we are discovered at that hour in the night. We will save fewer soldiers and preserve our combat power after crossing the river more completely.
However, things go counterproductive. The more you worry about something, the more likely it will happen.
Just when the heavy troops were erecting the pontoon bridge above the water for more than two-thirds of the entire river, a firework suddenly rose from the other side, leaving a straight upward trajectory in the dark night, and then suddenly exploded in mid-air.
A golden firework suddenly exploded in the inky night sky, which could be seen clearly even from Chang'an City dozens of miles away.
Yuchi Gong waved his hand: "Send an additional brigade of soldiers to assist the heavy troops in speeding up the erection of the pontoon bridge. It must be completed before the enemy's main force arrives, no matter the cost!"
"Here!"
Yuchi Baohuan, the leader of the soldiers, took the order and galloped away on the flanks. In a moment, a troop of several hundred people broke away from the group and rushed to the river to join the team building the pontoon bridge.
Immediately, there was the sound of horse hooves on the other side, and one scout after another appeared one after another. When they discovered the enemy troops who were urgently setting up a pontoon bridge in the river, they quickly turned their horses and galloped westward to report the news.
After a cup of tea, people on the other side screamed and neighed, and there were shadows everywhere. There was a sound of bowstrings ringing, and countless arrows seemed to suddenly jump out from the Nine Nether Hell, showing a downward parabola in mid-air, and landed accurately on the baggage. The troops are on top of their heads.
For a moment, arrows rained like rain, and the heavy soldiers on the river were hit by arrows one after another. The sound of screams and shouts filled the entire river, completely covering up the sound of the rushing river.
The thinly dressed baggage soldiers who were working on urgent construction had almost zero defense against arrows. A round of arrow rain fell, and countless soldiers screamed and fell into the river. In a short time, the river water was dyed red, and the river water was like ink in the night, rolling. The flow carried away the dead and wounded soldiers who fell into the water.
After three rounds of arrow rain, almost all of the heavy baggage troops and reinforcements of the first brigade of soldiers were killed or injured. Yuchi Gong showed no expression and waved his hand: "Send two more brigade of soldiers and continue to erect the pontoon bridge."
"Here!"
Military law is ruthless, and Yuchi Gong has always been known for his rigorous military management. As long as the military order is given, he must move forward even if he is facing mountains of swords and seas of fire. Therefore, more than a thousand soldiers braved the arrows falling from their heads, rushed onto the pontoon bridge, and continued to lay it forward.
There are more and more troops on the other side, and the drums for summoning the generals have already sounded. It is obvious that the main force is coming, and the crossbowmen who arrived earlier concentrated all their arrows on the pontoon bridge, causing the rain of arrows to fall. The density is terrifying, and the damage to Youhou Wei is extremely high.
Seeing that the two additional brigades of soldiers had suffered all casualties, but the pontoon bridge had only been laid forward for less than ten feet, Yuchi Gong's eyelids twitched, but his black and purple face was expressionless, and he raised his big hand and waved again.
So, two more brigades of soldiers rushed forward despite the rain of arrows...
After three consecutive reinforcements and a cost of 3,000 men, the pontoon bridge was only a few feet away from the other side. The soldiers were completely exposed to the enemy. Not only could they shoot with crossbows at close range, but some soldiers with amazing physical strength could even shoot short spears at them. Kill.
At this distance, even if there were ten times more troops, it would be impossible to erect the pontoon bridge directly to the other side.
Yuchi Gong raised his horse and shouted: "The cavalry is ready to attack!"
Two thousand cavalry quickly gathered behind him, and Yuchi Gong shouted: "Attack!"
"Drive!"
"Herod!"
The sound of people shouting and horses neighing suddenly sounded. Two thousand cavalry lined up in five columns, increased their horse speed within a very short distance, and rushed towards the other side along the pontoon bridge, letting arrows like locusts fall from above their heads. If not seen.
People and horses kept falling due to arrows, but everyone never stopped and moved forward.
The war horses galloped very fast. In almost a blink of an eye, they had reached the end of the pontoon bridge. They were several feet away from the other side. You could even see the soldiers on the other side holding long bows.
The first few dozen cavalrymen jumped directly into the river, picked up the wooden planks scattered everywhere, and the men and horses stood in the river water that submerged their chests. They used their bodies to build the last section of the pontoon bridge. The following cavalrymen stepped on their shoulders. The wooden plank leaped high and plunged into the Zuo Wuwei army on the other side.
At the same time, two other pontoon bridges began to be quickly laid after the cavalry disrupted the enemy array.
The soldiers under Commander Su Jia followed closely behind the cavalry and rushed across the pontoon bridge to the other side. They immediately swept horizontally and defeated all the enemy troops near the river bank. They quickly cleared a beach position on the west bank of Bashui to allow the following troops to quickly cross the river.
Zuo Wuwei reacted quickly after discovering the strength of the enemy's force in the river, and urgently blocked it. However, after all, the camp was far away from the river bank for safety reasons. Before the main force arrived, the cavalry of the Right Houwei had already crossed the river and occupied the beachhead. Moreover, the infantry and archers were unable to withstand the cavalry charge and were quickly beaten to death and wounded, forcing them to retreat continuously.
By the time Niu Jinda led the main force to come for reinforcements, Youhouwei's three pontoon bridges on the river had been laid, and nearly 20,000 troops poured in a steady stream of strong water, completely stabilizing the beachhead position.
Niu Jinda was not afraid. After listening to the scout's report, he had already made a preliminary judgment on the enemy's strength, position, and situation in his mind, and he was waiting to reorganize his troops and form an array to defend against the enemy.
Although the enemy has successfully crossed the river, not everyone is Han Xin. They can defeat more with less in the unfavorable situation of forming a backwater. All they need to do is to suppress the enemy firmly on the beach with no reinforcements behind them. In the end, Youhou Wei will be wiped out.
However, at this moment, the captain came flying over and conveyed Cheng Yaojin's military order: "The commander-in-chief has ordered the general to lead his troops to retreat immediately!"
Niu Jinda's eyes widened and he almost killed the captain with a knife: "Did you know that if you mistransmit military orders, you will be punished by Lingchi?"
This section of the defense line is Zuowuwei's position. If Yuchi Gong is allowed to successfully break through, it will be equivalent to the complete collapse of the BaShui defense line built by more than 100,000 troops. The serious consequences will be immeasurable. How could Cheng Yaojin issue such a military order? ?
The captain was so frightened that he was sweating all over. Seeing that Niu Jinda's hand was already on the handle of the horizontal knife at his waist, he could pull out the knife and cut him in two in the next moment. He gritted his teeth and said with force, "It is indeed the commander-in-chief." If there is a single mistake in the military order, the general will be willing to die!”
Niu Jinda had no choice but to let go of his hand holding the handle of the knife, glanced left and right, then looked in the direction of Bashui in the darkness ahead, and finally could only wave his hand: "The whole army retreats!"
"Here!"
As his military orders were conveyed downwards, tens of thousands of troops moved from rear to front and retreated to the rear in an orderly manner.
On the bank of Ba River, Yu Chigong had already led the main force to cross the river. Hearing that the scouts reported that the main force of Zuowuwei was retreating, he retreated without chaos. Knowing that this was Cheng Yaojin's plan, he did not dare to get too close and ordered the cavalry to keep a distance. Zuo Wuwei was thirty feet tall and closely monitored all his movements.
Then he turned around and told Yuchi Baohuan: "You should return to Tongguan immediately with a few soldiers, report the battle report to His Highness the King of Jin, and ask His Highness the King of Jin to implement it according to the original plan."
The so-called original plan was to completely abandon Hangu Pass and Tongguan, and lead all the troops to attack Chang'an along the passage that Yuchi Gong rushed through, hoping that this would trigger a chain reaction of garrisons in various places in Guanzhong, thus ending the decisive battle. The land was placed under Chang'an City.
Put everything to death and then live.
"Here!"
After receiving the order, Yuchi Baohuan rushed to Tongguan, but was pulled by Yuchi Gong again. He turned around and looked at his father in surprise. He saw his father riding up to him and said to him in a low voice: "After reporting back, Find an excuse to leave the Jin King's army and sneak back to Yushan to find Hidden in a safe place. If everything goes well here, my husband will send someone to look for you. If anything goes wrong... it will probably not affect your life, but our family's wealth will only end here. From now on, you guys Brother, take care of yourself.”
Yuchi Baohuan's expression changed drastically. For some reason, it was clear that there was a smooth road in front of him, but his father said such shocking words. Just as he was about to speak, Yuchi Gong had already shouted softly: "Stop making noise, just obey me, and go quickly!"
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"Here!"
Yuchi Baohuan did not dare to say anything. He glanced at his father, suppressed the worries in his heart, turned around and led two soldiers back to the east bank of Ba River along the pontoon, and galloped north towards Tongguan.
Only then did Yuchi Gong let out a breath, turned around and commanded his troops to occupy the beachhead position and set up a defense line. At the same time, scouts were sent to the west, south and north to collect information. Even if Cheng Yaojin obviously conserved his strength and retreated to the west bank of Bashui, he did not have the intention to pursue the victory. With so many troops from the Right Houwei, even if he rushed to Chang'an City, it would be impossible to break through the defense of Chang'an City. He was afraid that he would not be able to wait. The response of the garrison troops stationed in Guanzhong was that they were surrounded and strangled by the imperial troops who surrounded them from all sides.
We can only firmly protect this position here, wait for the army commanded by King Jin to arrive and cross the river smoothly, and then gather more than 100,000 troops to rush to Chang'an with great force, in order to maximize the sudden change in the situation in Guanzhong.
People must know how to exercise restraint, and when it comes to forbearance, they must not be greedy for merit. (End of chapter)