At this time, Li Po, who was watching the fire from the other side, was a little confused.
Across a Yellow River, the delay in reporting was unbearable, but being so close to the battlefield meant that we wouldn't be deaf or blind after all.
There had been no movement from the Tongguan garrison. When the 50,000-man vanguard led by Wang Shiwei and Shan Xiongxin passed Hongnong, the Tongguan garrison finally sent troops out of the garrison.
This point actually made Li Po very confused. If he moved to another place and went out to look for fighters, then he would send troops to occupy Hongnong first and block Wang Shichong's forward troops on the front line of Hongnong, which would delay Henan.
The army can engage in a few more battles to see if there is any opportunity.
If it succeeds, in addition to defeating the enemy, you can even find an opportunity for a decisive battle. If it fails, you can also retreat to Tongguan and defend it.
In other words, in Li Po's view, Hongnong has the old site of Hangu, which is located in a dangerous location and is a place that can stop the army from advancing westward.
If you want to strike out, but don't want others to take advantage of it, Hongnong is the most suitable battlefield. Even if the fighting spirit is not firm enough, it can consume the strength of Wang Shichong's army to the greatest extent.
But since he had completely given up on key points such as Hongnong and Fengling Ferry, it meant that Li Jiancheng planned to defend Tongguan. According to Li Po's guess, one was that Wang Shichong had a large number of soldiers and frightened Li Jiancheng, who had not been through the war.
.
In addition, it may be that Li Jiancheng felt that his combat power was insufficient and wanted to prevent others from taking advantage of him, so he adopted the most conservative strategy.
This is all easy to understand. Li Po did not mean to be contemptuous of others. War is something that needs to be adapted to local conditions. Radical guys can often surprise people and achieve great achievements, but they are more likely to suffer a complete defeat. Conservative generals perform more mediocrely.
, victory lies in a stable word, leaving the enemy with no opportunity to take advantage of it, sometimes it is the greatest victory.
Li Po had led troops for many years, and his understanding of strategies and tactics had long matured, and his vision had become broader, so his ideas were completely different from Zhang Shigui's.
If Li Jiancheng led his army out of the border to Hongnong, Li Po would admire his courage and courage. But now that he can't defend, Li Po will still admire his determination. In everyone's eyes, the messy Henan army is just a piece of bone.
Fatty, as Li Jiancheng, the prince of Li Tang Dynasty, was eager to make achievements, it also required great determination and patience to be able to secure the Tongguan pass.
What Li Po didn't understand was that, in this case, sending troops out at this time was completely unnecessary.
It is not unusual for three thousand cavalry in an open area to keep hundreds of thousands of troops from advancing or retreating. Of course, there are strict prerequisites for that. One is that the enemy has not many cavalry, or there is a huge difference in the combat effectiveness of the cavalry between the two armies.
, another possibility is that the terrain is too open.
But on the Hanguan Ancient Road...the enemy troops were already so close, all strategies and tactics seemed to have lost their meaning, leaving no enough space or room for maneuver for a small number of cavalry to fight.
Obviously, since he had never been a prince and did not know the internal situation of the Tang army, he could not understand Li Jiancheng's difficulties in this matter.
In the past, Li Jiancheng sat in the court and watched the King of Qin's campaigns, and occasionally caused trouble for him. But now it was reversed. The King of Qin returned to the capital and took up the post of Minister Zuopushe, while Li Jiancheng became the leader of the army.
, so it is the turn of Prince Li Jiancheng to worry about "slander".
This kind of situation is something that the Kansai nobles who know about it can only understand and cannot explain, let alone Li Po.
Therefore, in Li Po's eyes, the three thousand cavalry coming out of the pass were almost meaningless. It was more like the Tang army in Tongguan sent a large group of scouts?
His guess was absolutely correct, but what he didn't know was that these "scouts" had big heads, heads that were capable of making decisions.
In vain, Li Po thought carefully about the leaders on both sides, but in the end he didn't take it seriously.
Wang Shiwei, the king of Chu, naturally knew that Shan Xiongxin, Wang Shichong's elder brother, was known as "like thunder". He was a big bandit in the Wagang Army and his reputation was very high here.
But these two people are of no importance in his mind. Wang Shiwei, as a relative of Wang Shichong, is now half buried in the earth. He may have lost his head at some time. The unlucky Shan Xiongxin may have some ability, but he probably has no time left.
many.
The man who came out of the Tang Army was Zhang Shigui, who was also a bandit leader in Henan. He also "remembered" this man. He had a very bad reputation and was associated with Xue Rengui. He was a typical traitor.
He didn't know much about this man's life, but his official position was indeed quite high, which showed that this man was very talented and capable. Thinking of this, Li Po drooled a little.
He has no shortage of people under his command who can fight, but he lacks some generals with ideas and insight. This man seems to be very good. He will become a general in the future, but now he is not well-known. Look, he only brought 3,000 troops.
How pitiful it is to come out and meet people about life and death.
The other two, one Ashina Danai and the other Lu Chengye... Hmm, a very strange combination... So far, Li Po was ready to send people to move some messy ordnance across the river, waiting for Wang Shichong to come and collect it.
Already.
Yes, if he thought about it, the forward troops of the Henan army would be able to advance under Tongguan the next day. If Wang Shichong sent people to the river, he would not only get ordnance, but also send people to stay here.
Li Po has already prepared lobbyists. People in Henan are divided, and since he has good food and drink here, he might be able to persuade people to come to his aid.
Once there is someone on the other side to respond, it will save him a lot of effort...
Li Po had a wonderful idea. If he hadn't thought it couldn't be too funny, he would have wanted to pull out a banner on the shore and write in big words, Jinyang welcomes you... What a beautiful scene, isn't it?
But he never expected that someone would become famous in such a rubbish time.
……………………
The setting sun was still hanging in the sky, and 2,500 Tang Army cavalry had already lined up under Zhang Shigui's military order. Zhang Shigui finally raised the sword in his hand high, and the sound of the sword being unsheathed was heard. The setting sun was like blood, reflected in these
There seemed to be a layer of blood covering the person's body, among the swords and swords.
Zhang Shigui roared, shaking his horse, and waved his long sword above his head, which together with the big flag in the sky, led the soldiers in the direction of charge.
The sound of horse hooves suddenly became louder, sending up smoke and dust all over the sky, reverberating on the ancient road like thunder.
The distance is less than twenty miles, and the two armies are almost invisible to each other. However, the galloping cavalry tells people that if you are not careless at such a distance, it is equivalent to a surprise attack for the cavalry.
Wang Shiwei and Shan Xiongxin's 50,000-strong army were not completely unprepared. Although they rarely fought with cavalry, among the 50,000 people there were many veterans who had returned from the Liaodong expedition.
They are the foundation for the growth of the rebel army, but it is difficult for them to climb to high positions because they generally have low backgrounds. However, there is no doubt that they are the most powerful and experienced group of people in this group. They have experienced months of fighting.
, so that they dare not relax even a little bit.
When the army stopped, with little or no military orders, many officers ordered people to dig trenches and prepare to cut down wood and make things such as horse barriers. Because the cavalry were too close, they felt insecure on the periphery of the army.
But the soldiers who were working hungry did not buy it. They had two meals a day and were not full at each meal. The soldiers had already complained. When the camp was soon shrouded in smoke, the soldiers who were not subject to strict military discipline
, immediately put down the work in his hands, preparing to fill his growling stomach first.
This is obviously one of the reasons why the officers and soldiers can often beat the rebels to the point of crying without much effort, but in Henan or under the command of Dou Jiande, there is no way to solve this problem.
Then disaster happened...
There were no scouts who could send back the news that the enemy was attacking when the cavalry was advancing rapidly. In fact, even if it was sent back, there would be little time to react.
This obviously has nothing to do with the soldiers, but with whether the judgment of the leading general is accurate or not. When the general is absent-minded, the entire army is already in danger. No one wants to let the soldiers make the same judgment as the generals themselves, because
No matter how accurate your judgment is, someone has to listen, right?
But when the danger finally came, ordinary soldiers were the first to suffer.
In the hazy smoke, the unique aroma of corn spreads, making the hungry soldiers salivate in their mouths. They look eagerly at the piles of bonfires, waiting for a long time... Everything else is...
Being left behind.
A picture that looks very peaceful despite the hustle and bustle.
At such a moment, the ground suddenly trembled slightly. Most people didn't even notice the change. Only some veterans had some doubts. When the trembling became more and more obvious, they finally looked into the distance and saw
That cloud of smoke that stayed high.
Their mouths opened wide in horror, and they subconsciously looked around. Looking at the messy comrades around them, their faces quickly turned pale.
When the sound of horse hooves was faintly heard, roars mixed with fear rang out in the camp. Even so, many people turned a deaf ear and continued to do what they wanted to do.
When the large group of cavalry appeared, chaos finally spread like ripples in the camp.
In fact, just like when Li Po defeated Li Shentong, this was also a battle that was difficult to replicate. The generals on both sides seemed to have negotiated and cooperated tacitly to reach this point.
There were not many cavalry, but the galloping knights, like sharp blades inserted into tofu, rushed into the 50,000-strong army without any hindrance, immediately causing a bloody storm.
At that moment, the most powerful note in the war suddenly sounded. The tall Hexi war horses were galloping, with an impact of several tons, without any protection from the enemy, smashing everything along the way...
This chapter has been completed!