When Taishi Ci led the troops towards the recruit camp in the north of Yecheng City, Gao Lan's expression finally became unbearable, and he sternly urged the soldiers to cross the pontoon bridge as quickly as possible and array themselves on the south bank.
Taishi Ci was aware of the importance of the pontoon bridge, and Gao Lan was also well aware of it. However, before going out to battle, he was somewhat fluky, hoping that Taishi Ci would be timid because of worries about the defenders of Yecheng. As long as there were more
For a while, the waiting formation established itself on the south bank, thus averting the crisis on the floating bridge.
However, when he saw the Zhengxi cavalry galloping under Taishi's battle flag, Gao Lan knew that all the luck he had had was gone, and only a desperate fight remained!
The soldiers of Yuan's army who took to the battle formation for the first time managed to form a battle formation in front of the camp. They looked more or less like it. However, as soon as they stepped onto the pontoon bridge, their true colors were revealed. They were askew and disorganized. There were even some who were nervous or panicked.
He unexpectedly fell off the pontoon and fell into the river with a squeaking sound. Fortunately, he was not wearing heavy armor. He struggled with his hands and feet and dug himself to the shore. Although he was embarrassed, he still had a small chance of surviving.
Taishi Ci took all this in his eyes, and felt a little enlightened in his heart. He stood up on his horse, stretched out his arms and shouted: "These are new soldiers! It's our turn to teach these chickens and dogs what they are capable of."
It’s called real fighting!”
"Oh oh oh..." Zhengxi soldiers raised their swords and guns in response, and automatically gathered into a huge charging array, heading towards the pontoon to kill them!
In Ye City, Feng Ji, who had just finished supervising the city defense and imposing martial law on the neighborhood, hurried to the city gate tower, lay on the battlements and observed for a moment, then he raised his hands towards Yuan Shang and said: "Young Master!
There are only a few cavalry outside the city, and there is no backup, so they will definitely not be able to attack the city! However, if the pontoon bridge in the north of the city is lost, the morale of the camp will plummet! Even if the number of people is not lost, we can no longer fight! Young Master, please hurry up
Send troops quickly to the pontoon to meet General Gao!"
"This..." Yuan Shang frowned and looked at Guo Tu.
Guo Tu's eyebrows twitched and he said, "Did Yuan Tu expect Zhengxi's surprise attack?"
Feng Ji couldn't help being awe-struck when he heard this, and said quickly: "The soldiers from the Western Expedition are coming in a surprise attack. How could I have expected that?"
"Since it was not expected, Yuan Tu asserted that apart from this army, there will be no rear army for the Western Expedition?" Guo Tu smiled slightly, but his smile was a bit sinister. "Or maybe Yuan Tu has some special news channels? Can we know whether the Expedition to the West is true or not?"
"
Feng Ji quickly denied it and said: "I looked at the formation under the city, so let's extrapolate it."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Feng Ji felt a little regretful, but Guo Tu quickly caught Feng Ji's words and immediately continued: "Let's talk about it? The young master is in danger, and the master's wealth is in Ye, so we should be cautious, how can we
It’s ridiculous to even think about it!”
Yuan Shang was a little at a loss. As the son of Yuan Shao, and because of his good looks, Yuan Shao liked him very much, so he could be said to be pampered. If it comes to tasting dogs and horses, Yuan Shang is naturally an expert, but when it comes to having a keen insight into battle formations
, but he does not have the ability to act decisively when facing the enemy. Although he is still in a safe place far away from the fighting scene, he is still a little panicked and has no idea in his heart. After hearing the argument between Guo Tu and Feng Ji,
It seemed that Guo Tu had the upper hand, so he subconsciously favored Guo Tu's suggestion, and then imitated Yuan Shao's example and comforted Feng Ji who did not adopt the suggestion...
While Feng Ji thanked Yuan Shang, he lowered his head and sighed secretly. The emotion that emerged in his heart was unknown, whether it should be anger, pity, or both.
It is not true to say that Feng Ji has no selfish motives at all, because although both Feng Ji and Guo Tu belong to the Yuzhou faction, they also have different levels of power within the same faction. Guo Tu is too hegemonic, and
He also won Yuan Shao's heart, so Fengji didn't have much room to talk around Yuan Shao, so he could only focus on Yuan Shao's sons...
However, Fengji's suggestion just now was entirely based on selfish motives, and it was wrong, because Fengji also judged that the key node on the battlefield was near the floating bridge. For recruits who are going into battle for the first time, nothing is more important than morale, and morale is high.
, even the Yellow Turban thieves can kill everyone, and their morale has dropped, which is a group of pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. In addition, if the Yecheng garrison sends part of the defenders to rescue the camp in the north of the city, it will naturally be impossible to assist the baggage, and they will be defeated by then.
When soldiers conquer the West, the credit for the advice is theirs, and the responsibility for the loss of food and fodder is Guo Tu's. Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds if they were even cut off and attacked?
Unfortunately, Guo Tu seemed to have seen through this plan and seized on the loopholes in his words to fight back. As a result, Yuan Shang, who had little fighting courage in the first place, once again became determined to hold on.
But in Feng Ji's view, whether he can be saved or not is one thing, but whether he can send troops or not is another matter!
Perhaps there are still a lot of military supplies, equipment, food and grass in the city, which is enough to support the expenses, but if they do not support the new army camp in the north of the city, just relying on these new soldiers will have to fight against the tiger and wolf troops marching to the west, which is probably a disaster.
!
Guo Tu's strategy is actually very simple, which is to compare poorly.
Since the main camp of the baggage was irreversible, he dragged the northern camp into the water, and then picked up someone who had done a small job of defending Yecheng and protecting the lord's family to protect himself. The blame was naturally placed on Gao Lan and Lu Kuang.
on the head...
Based on Feng Ji's understanding of Yuan Shao, protecting Yuan Shang is not as good as killing many soldiers from the Western Conquest! After all, Yuan Shang is Yuan Shao's heart and soul. From this point of view, Guo Tu's understanding of Yuan Shao is indeed very profound.
However, when the soldiers outside the city find out that they have been abandoned, they will inevitably become disloyal! At that time, the war situation will truly get out of hand!
In military affairs, victory or defeat is not terrible. What is terrible is losing the heart to pursue victory!
The soldiers guarding the city walls of Ye City were all looking up, holding their swords and nervously waiting for orders. Some military academies had even spontaneously gathered their soldiers and lined up to wait...
When the war started, they were like brothers. No matter how much they laughed at the new recruits who didn't know anything before, now that they faced a common opponent, they were their own kinsmen. In addition, there were also many locals in the army.
The civilians under the city were driven away like cattle and sheep by the soldiers who conquered the West. Naturally, they were angry and unwilling to sit idly by.
Whether to rescue the main camp, or to join the main camp in the north of the city and march together. Every soldier is waiting for the final order, and then roars out, regardless of all obstacles, rushing to the battlefield as quickly as possible!
I don’t know how long I waited, but Yuan Shang’s order finally came. The flag bearer waved the flag and waved the flag. Every Yecheng soldier raised his head and tried to distinguish the meaning of the flag. Then these generals sighed in unison, and some
The grumpy one even yelled: "Damn! Are you just watching here and ignoring the people in the city? What kind of military order is this!"
The reaction of the soldiers was slightly slower than that of the leading generals, but it caused a bigger commotion. In the ranks, shouts and curses were heard: "There are folks outside the city! They are all our folks! Is this how it is?"
Let the soldiers who conquer the west come and go freely? Why don't you go out of the city to rescue people? Why?!"
The voices of shouts and discussions were mixed in one place, and suddenly they became one on the top of Yecheng.
Taishi Ci heard the sound erupting in Yecheng in the wind. He was startled at first, thinking that Yecheng had sent troops, but after taking a closer look and distinguishing it carefully, even though he could not hear clearly what the shouting was, he still couldn't hear it.
I can understand that it is not a roar in the face of a powerful enemy, but a sign of injustice, wavering and resentment!
Taishi Ci laughed and looked back at the guards around him: "Yuan is so incompetent, we must defeat the enemy!"
At this moment, the pontoon bridge at the camp in the north of the city was already a mess, a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Although the number of recruits under the command of Gao Lan was large, their training was insufficient. Coupled with the speed with which Taishi Ci led his men, even though Gao Lan tried his best to mobilize, there were still not enough soldiers to cross the pontoon bridge. The defense system had not yet been fully established.
, they were attacked by the cavalry led by Tai Shici!
Fighting seems to be a word full of courage, but in fact, most people have only water left when they fight. Gao Lan's troops, because of panic and slowness, had to spread out along the river bank.
The stability of the defense array has been greatly compromised.
Moreover, the infantry and the cavalry did not take the initiative in the first place, and could only passively spread the formation. When Taishi Ci had no final choice, no one knew which pontoon bridge Taishi Ci would attack first. Even in Hebei
The archers on both sides of the bank were at a loss.
It seemed like a long time passed, and it seemed like only a moment. When the first row of Zhengxi cavalry rushed into the formation of infantry, Gao Lan, who was located on the north bank of the river, couldn't help but shrink his pupils!
Left wing!
These Zhengxi cavalrymen feinted in front of the formation, then all turned their horses' heads, made a small circle, and pounced on the outermost left wing of Yuan Jun!
Horse hooves were flying, and in the horrified and incomprehensible expressions of Yuan Jun's soldiers, not a single one of the entire wave of cavalrymen retreated at the last moment!
none!
Although everyone knew that the first wave of soldiers to contact the enemy, whether they were infantry or cavalry, had a very high probability of being killed or injured. It could be said that there was a narrow chance of death! However, this group of soldiers who conquered the West still charged into the enemy without fear.
Go up and forcefully create a flesh-and-blood avenue among Yuan Jun's infantry array!
Based on the experience of Gao Lan, a veteran on the battlefield, at a glance, he can tell that after this wave of impact, at least twenty or thirty cavalrymen were lost!
However, the infantry lost more!
Accompanied by the dull sound of flesh and bone hitting each other, the infantry of the Yuan Army at the forefront were thrown high into the air, knocking down many soldiers in the rear row. Blood immediately spread on the front line, quickly covering the river bank.
The land beside it dyed red, and then turned into small streams and merged into the river, dyeing the river water near the pontoon bridge a light pink.
The Zhengxi Cavalry, which came like a storm, followed a path of flesh and blood and then continued to advance. Before Yuan Jun's soldiers could recover, they had already broken through Yuan Jun's obstruction and rushed to the pontoon bridge on the left wing.
Nearby, braving the rain of arrows from the other side, he poured kerosene on the pontoon!
A cavalryman fell down full of arrows. Immediately another cavalryman rushed up, picked up a torch and threw it on the pontoon. The kerosene remained silent for a few seconds, as if it was accumulating strength, and then exploded with a loud bang.
A group of Yuan Jun who were in a dilemma at the head of the pontoon bridge were swallowed up in the flames together with the sampans of the pontoon bridge!
When the newly recruited soldiers of the Yuan Army, who had not been fully trained, saw the Zhengxi cavalrymen and horses all covered in blood and charging wildly from left to right, some of these soldiers who had just transferred from civilian life lost the courage to continue fighting and cowered.
Some of them were hiding behind; others were standing dumbly, turning a deaf ear to the commands of the generals and commanders shouting at the side, and some of them suddenly collapsed emotionally, running around aimlessly shouting on the battlefield, and even fell into the river.
Along with the corpses that fell into the river, they drifted downstream.
On the one hand, the formation was constantly being squeezed, and on the other hand, the defensive movements of the recruits were completely deformed. Even the archers on the other side of the river, who were supposed to be relatively safe, lost their accuracy and strength, and were unable to give enough threats and kills to the Zhengxi Cavalry.
As a result, the soldiers who formed the formation across the bridge became more and more panicked. Gradually, they were led by the deserters who had broken down emotionally. Many people also dropped their weapons and fled in all directions. Many people tried to escape back again.
Going to the north bank, I bumped into Yuan Bing on the pontoon. It was so crowded that I don’t know how many people bumped into each other and fell into the river!
Under the pontoon, there were densely packed human heads. Although it was already spring, the water temperature was still very cold. In addition, most of these recruits were men from Jizhou, most of them were landlubbers. They could not struggle for a few times in the water, and they were shocked again.
In panic again, he sank to the ground...
On the bridge pillars and beside the sampan, there are many lucky people climbing on them. In order to protect their life-saving position, these lucky people have to kick out all the guys who come close to them from time to time, regardless of what they have done before.
These may still be partners in the same queue as myself...
More and more fires were rising, burning his breath, more and more black smoke was covering his eyes, and more and more panicked cries were clogging his ears. All the efforts of Gao Lan on the north bank of the river finally collapsed.
Everything came to nothing in front of the new recruits.
At the next moment, the Zhengxi Cavalry threw out a can filled with kerosene and smashed it on the wooden piles of the pontoon bridge. As the kerosene splashed, torches followed. Normally, with so many people on the bridge,
Even if it is really burned with fire, it may not be burned out in a while, but more and more panicked Yuan Jun gathered in one place, which greatly exceeded the original load-bearing limit of the pontoon bridge. Coupled with the constant shaking and vibration, one of the
The pontoon bridge could no longer hold up, and with the dense crowd on the bridge, it suddenly fell from the middle, causing water splashes all over the sky!
Gao Lan stood at his command position and was still doing his best to deploy all the troops and horses he could control to put out the fire, defend the gap broken by the Zhengxi cavalry, and gather and frighten the new soldiers running around. However,
He sent out troops and horses in groups, and in a blink of an eye they were drowned in the chaotic flow of people, which could not have much effect.
Yuan Jun's array had completely collapsed in the chaos. Hundreds of Zhengxi cavalry were divided into two teams, which were constantly attacking the remaining Yuan Jun, forcing Yuan Jun to fall into a frantic torrent. The remaining pontoon bridge had become
There is an existence like a Shura field. At every moment, no one knows how many Yuan troops were killed by water and fire, swords and spears!
In the midst of the smoke, Gao Lan stood on a high place and tried his best to look towards Yecheng, hoping that some soldiers in Yecheng could be dispatched to restrain the Zhengxi Cavalry a little so that he could take a breather, but the whole Yecheng was silent at all.
There was no movement, except for the nearby Zhengxi cavalry, which kept galloping horizontally and vertically, creating greater chaos and chasing Yuan Jun, who was running around like headless flies.
Gao Lan gradually lowered his voice, stopped his almost hoarse roar, and stared blankly at the crazy current that destroyed all three pontoon bridges at the ferry around him. He watched these pontoon bridges burn and collapse.
fell, watching the Zhengxi cavalry proudly regroup under the tricolor flag, leaving behind a piece of debris, and slowly headed towards the main baggage camp again...
But Yecheng, only fifteen miles away from the pontoon bridge on the river bank, was still quiet, and there was still no sign of any reinforcements being sent!
"General!" Gao Lan unknowingly burst into tears, "Heaven in heaven! If there is still a trace of brotherhood, why is it like this, why is it like this!"
The fire in the main camp was getting bigger and bigger, and the thick smoke was billowing, like a black dragon, baring its teeth and claws and roaring in anger in the land of Yecheng!
In the spring of the first year of Changping, on February 12, when Yuan Shao led his army to march into Taihang, Taishi Ci, who detoured from the flank and drove in, suddenly attacked Ye City and burned countless baggage.
The camp in the north of the city, Gaolan, was defeated.
The main camp of the baggage camp, Lu Kuang, was destroyed.
Although Yecheng was safe and sound, it was a heavy blow to the morale of the entire Yuan army. Starting from this, a frenzied trend swept up until all the heroes on this apocalyptic stage were involved!
