Chapter 4406: Landing on the beach
Thirty miles away from Xianyang Bridge, Zuo Wuwei's scouts were already looming outside the rain curtain. Li Huaiqin felt uneasy and in a dilemma, so he ordered the army to slow down its march and at the same time sent people back to explore where the two armies of An Yuanshou and Liu Keman had arrived. .
Our scouts reported that Zuo Wuwei was waiting in formation at the north of Xianyang Bridge. This made Li Huaiqin at a loss: he must not retreat at this time, otherwise he would not be able to give a reasonable explanation for rashly sending troops, but he could not advance rashly either. , if Zuo Wuwei is really determined to resist the enemy, he will encounter a fierce battle once he leads his army across Xianyang Bridge. With the strength and combat power of his troops, it is absolutely impossible to defeat Zuo Wuwei.
Even if we can win the battle, is it necessary to make huge sacrifices to take this step?
He couldn't figure out whether Cheng Yaojin wanted to fight to the death or just pretend, so he scolded Yu Wenshiji. The old thief vowed that Cheng Yaojin would preserve his strength and retreat as soon as he leads his army to Xianyang Bridge... What a fart!
At the end of the Youshi period, the heavy rain continued to pour down. Li Huaiqin, who was advancing rapidly in the rain, finally waited for You Xiaowei behind him and Liu Keman behind him...
The two armies were marching side by side. Li Huaiqin, wearing a raincoat and riding a horse, saw An Yuanshou, who was as majestic as a hill on horseback. The other party calmly rode forward to salute: "The prince is polite, and the armor is still on the body." If you can do the courtesy, I hope you will forgive me.”
Although he has a group of sixteen soldiers and horses like You Xiaowei, the Duke of the country is lower than the king of the county and must pay tribute first.
An Yuanshou, who is nearly 40 years old, has a strong body, a high nose, deep eyes, and deep outlines of Parthian descent. Sitting on a horse in the night, his appearance is deep and eagle-eyed, giving people a sense of unruly killing. The momentum is astonishing.
If he were not such a person, it would be difficult to lead an army of guards to guard Xiliang, suppressing the nine surnames of Zhaowu that had gradually become attached to them over the years, and making them as submissive as a dog...
Li Huaiqin didn't dare to offend him, so he quickly returned the courtesy: "You don't need to be polite, Duke Liang!"
The two of them held hands on horseback, and then An Yuanshou asked in a deep voice: "The prince took the first step, but why is the process slow and has not reached Xianyang Bridge until now?"
Li Huaiqin said: "To be honest, the soldiers under my command have been out of battle formations for a long time and lacked training. In rainy days, the road is difficult to move and it is difficult to speed up. I am ashamed of myself."
Naturally, I can't say that I'm waiting for you to take the first step and go to Cheng Yaojin's muddy water for me...
An Yuanshou was an honest man, so he believed it to be true. Rumors that King Hui of Nanyang was singing, dancing, eating, drinking and having fun in Xi County were known all over the world. The 20,000 troops under his command were initially to guard against Tuyuhun's invasion. However, when Tuyuhun actually invaded, he had already Unable to bear the battle, Fang Jun personally led the army to the Dadou Valley and defeated the Tuyuhun cavalry, while Li Huaiqin huddled in Yi County and remained motionless.
It would be difficult for him to lead the troops to Chang'an now...
An Yuanshou waved his hand and said boldly: "Even so, the prince might as well postpone it for the time being, and see if he can charge into the battle and defeat Cheng Yaojin!"
Li Huaiqin was surprised. Although he didn't want to take the lead, An Yuanshou's recklessness was not a good thing. Do you really think Cheng Yaojin was a vegetarian? No matter what the calculation is, this battle can only be won but not lost, so it is better to be cautious.
"Why are you anxious, Duke Liang? Behind you, there is Li Keman's 20,000 troops who will arrive soon. Why don't we wait and have a good discussion? Even if you, Duke Liang, are the only one who is qualified for the vanguard task, you should still do it." Good division of labor, tacit cooperation, and strive to win with one blow. Otherwise, if the entanglement with Cheng Yaojin at Xianyang Bridge makes King Jin unable to withstand the pressure, wouldn't it be a big deal? "
Cheng Yaojin, a veteran of hundreds of battles, a distinguished minister of Zhenguan, and Zuo Wuwei, a powerful military force in the world, fierce and good at fighting. Whoever dares to underestimate him will suffer a big loss. Now that we are one step away from Chang'an, we should naturally fight steadily. As long as we cross the Xianyang Bridge It's half the battle, how can you be so rash?
However, An Yuanshou had a rebellious character. How could he listen to Li Huaiqin's dissuasion? He said disdainfully: "If you are greedy for life and afraid of death, why do you need to be so eloquent? I will rush to the front. The prince only needs to hand over the general Zhongzhou Zhou." That’s it. ”
Li Huaiqin frowned and said angrily: "If I was afraid of death, why would I raise an army to attack Chang'an? It's just a matter of great importance. If the march is frustrated, it will not only affect the morale of the army, but also put His Highness the King of Jin in Chang'an City into trouble. Passively, our troops are superior, and the enemy can only defend their positions. If we fight steadily, we will win, so why take risks?"
An Yuanshou was determined: "Soldiers are valuable and quick. The Zuowuwei is no more than an army of one guard. So what if he is good at fighting? At worst, the general can hold him back. When Liu Keman arrives, you two They can each lead their troops across the Wei River and bypass the enemy's position on both sides. The guards will completely wipe out them, or they should divide their troops and go straight to Chang'an. They can advance or retreat. Why bother lingering here? I have made up my mind. There is no need for the prince to say anything. I also ask the prince to send someone to hand over the boats carried by the general to the last general. The last general will cross the river, attack Cheng Yaojin, and capture Xianyang Bridge!"
You Xiaowei has been guarding Ganliang for many years, and has never participated in the great battles such as the overthrow of Xue Yantuo, the sniper attack on Tuyuhun, the western expedition to the Cannibals, and the eastern expedition to Goguryeo. However, the land of Liangzhou is where the nine surnames of Zhaowu gather, and the situation is turbulent and wars continue all year round. , Youxiaowei has extremely rich experience in fighting up and down, so An Yuanshou does not take Cheng Yaojin's Zuowuwei in his eyes.
In his opinion, Zuo Wuwei was just an incompetent person who followed Emperor Taizong to earn merits. Who could go out with dozens or millions of troops and still suffer defeat?
Moreover, there are many young and strong men of the nine surnames of Zhaowu in the Youxiao Guard. They are all brave and good at fighting. Facing the Zuowu Guard who clings to the position and has completely lost their mobility, they will definitely be able to defeat them.
As long as he wins this battle and advances to Chang'an, he will be the number one hero when the King of Jin ascends the throne. Who can ignore the temptation of the "feudal side"? The An clan belongs to the family of the Parthian king. The Parthian kingdom has been destroyed for many years. How great an honor would it be to be able to restore the kingdom in his hands?
Therefore, he did not allow Liu Huaiqin, Liu Keman and others to take away his merits...
Li Huaiqin realized later, and now he slowly came back to his senses. He understood An Yuanshou's thoughts and knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he could only say helplessly: "Since Duke Liang insists on doing this, how can I stop him?" ? There is no need for the soldiers of Youxiao Guard to accept the boats. I will let people build pontoons and ferry across the river. I hope Liang Guogong’s flag will be victorious and the horse will be successful! ”
"Haha! Borrow the good words from the king!"
An Yuanshou was so ambitious and heroic that his troops arrived at the north of Xianyang Bridge and gathered along the river bank, waiting to cross the river.
Li Huaiqin didn't say much. If you want the first prize, then give it to me. As long as you don't break your front teeth, it will reduce casualties on my side. Why not?
The troops were immediately ordered to transport the boats collected along the way, select a ferry upstream of Xianyang Bridge, and start building a pontoon bridge. First, the boats were arranged in a queue connecting the north and south banks in the river, and then connected with ropes to make them stable so that they would not be scattered by the rushing river water. They were relatively stable, and then people laid wooden planks, door panels, etc. on them.
Around Haishi, the three pontoon bridges were erected over the Wei River. An Yuanshou, wearing a helmet, armour, and a raincoat, directed his troops to cross the Wei River along the pontoon bridges in the heavy rain.
The Zuo Wuwei on the other side had already been prepared. Almost all the crossbows were gathered on the south bank of the Weishui River, and they built a position near the head of the pontoon bridge. When they saw the Right Xiaowei crossing the Weishui River, they immediately used their crossbows to strike head-on from a distance.
For a time, the arrows were as dense as rain, knocking the soldiers of the Youxiao Guard crossing the river over. Many soldiers were hit by the rain of arrows before they even set foot on the shore. They turned over and fell into the river. Soon, they were covered in layers. The corpses filled up the water on the shore, and blood dyed the river red. Countless Youxiao guardsmen trampled on Paoze's body and rushed up the bank through the blood-red river water, rushing towards the enemy's position.
Zuo Wuwei was on guard for a long time. The sword and shield soldiers immediately stepped forward to form a barrier. The crossbowmen retreated to a safe distance and continued to suppress the enemy with long-range projectiles of crossbows.
In the north of Xianyang Bridge, An Yuanshou dismounted and listened to the captain's report on the battle. His sunken eyes had a pair of light blue eyes that looked a little deep. His expression was not affected by the heavy losses suffered by the vanguard troops in the battle to seize the beach. .
The thug waved and said calmly: "Let the cavalry go up, harass the enemy's flanks, find weak points and attack twice, forcing their front line to move backwards."
The crossbowmen can indeed kill from a distance, but their own defense is very weak and must be used in conjunction with the sword and shield soldiers. However, the formation of the sword and shield soldiers in the front and the crossbowmen in the back will make the defense on both wings weak, or set up highly mobile missiles. The cavalry guards the flanks, or retreats quickly after a strong attack.
As long as the opponent is forced to retreat, Right Xiaowei can successfully land on the south bank and launch a frontal attack.
"Here!"
The captain went to convey the order, and the cavalry troops that had already assembled on the north bank stepped onto the pontoon bridge, advanced towards the south bank, and then disembarked in shallow water. They divided their troops into two parts and moved toward both sides of Zuowu Wei's position.
Cheng Yaojin naturally would not send his own cavalry to duel with the enemy's cavalry at the beginning of the battle, so after the crossbowmen severely damaged the enemy's vanguard and demoralized them, he ordered the sword and shield soldiers to cover the crossbowmen. Slowly retreat, directly giving way to the tidal flats on the shore.
It's not that he doesn't want to intercept the enemy troops on the river pontoon bridge, but once he does that, the enemy can build another pontoon bridge anywhere upstream and downstream. As long as he divides his troops and lands, he can attack Zuowei's flank, causing huge hidden dangers to his own position. .
"Striking halfway across the border" can indeed destroy the enemy to the maximum extent, but the danger is also very high, and you will suffer backlash if you are not careful...
Knowing that Zuo Wuwei had retreated and that his vanguard troops had landed and occupied the tidal flats, An Yuanshou said to Li Huaiqin: "At the end of the day, the general will personally go into battle to break the enemy's position. The prince can take action to ensure support."
Li Huaiqin nodded repeatedly: "Lang Guogong's troops are really elite and strong, and they are invincible. You can go forward with confidence. I will be here soon, and I will ensure that the right guard's rear formation is stable and the two wings are intact."
An Yuanshou nodded, got on his horse, stepped onto the pontoon surrounded by his own soldiers, and rushed to the other side in the heavy rain with tens of thousands of soldiers from the Right Xiao Guard under his command. (End of chapter)