In the afternoon, the water on the river was steaming, and the shore was sweltering. Many soldiers simply jumped into the river to bathe and play in the water to relieve the heat.
But most of them are from the north and are not used to water, so they wrap ropes around their waists. Therefore, there are often scenes of several or even ten people connected by a rope near the river bank, just like water plants swaying with the current.
Somewhat funny.
Suddenly, a rapid warning sound from drums and horns came from the river, which immediately broke this rare afternoon leisure time. At the same time, drum orders to gather soldiers also sounded from the camps on the bank and in the south city of Heyang.
The soldiers who were soaking in the cold in the river rushed to the shore in a hurry, looking up and staring at the other side. However, the river surface they saw was distorted under the refraction of the steam, and it was difficult to see the specific situation on the other side. Although in their hearts,
They were very curious, but after hearing the continuous sound of drums, they didn't dare to stay any longer and waste time, and hurriedly went to their respective camps.
As the sound of drum orders resounded throughout the camps, Yu Wenhu, who was wearing light armor and surrounded by a group of soldiers, quickly walked out of Nancheng, then rode his horse onto the bridge and headed straight for Zhongli City in Hezhou.
With the arrival of reinforcements from the rear, Heqiao's troops became sufficient. Yuwenhu arranged for his confidant general Hou Longen to be on guard day and night in Zhongli City, Heyang, to monitor the movements of the enemy forces on the other side.
"Reporting to Mr. Zhongshan, the enemy troops on the other side suddenly gathered around half an hour ago, and there were boats sailing into the river..."
Hou Longen introduced Yuwenhu into the city and climbed onto the observation deck. He pointed at the enemy's defense line on the other side and said to Yuwenhu.
The distance here in Zhongli City is closer to the north bank, and many enemy movements can be seen at a panoramic view. While listening to Hou Longen's explanation, Yu Wenhu looked towards the north bank and saw that many boats had been launched in front of the river embankment pier on the north bank, and
There were still a lot of people moving around on the boat.
"Is it possible that the enemy is planning to launch an offensive?"
Seeing this scene, Yu Wenhu said in a deep voice, and then turned to Hou Longen beside him and said: "Inspect the defense here again to ensure that there are enough arrows and stones. Once the enemy approaches, launch a counterattack immediately!"
If the enemy had launched an attack here before, Yuwen Hu would have been somewhat nervous. After all, according to Li Boshan's previous statement, tens of thousands of enemy troops were still stationed on the north bank, and Yu Wenhu sent river patrol scouts close to the river line to inspect the enemy camps.
The numbers of personnel entering and exiting are also similar. If these enemy defenders attack at full force, it will also bring great pressure to him.
But now, the enemy troops who were divided into divisions and coming south were trapped south of Luoshui by Li Bi's army, making it difficult to approach the river bridge. The large reinforcements from the country had also arrived, and they were very strong.
The enemy has already missed the best moment to launch an attack. Attacking again at this time will only be in vain and cost lives!
Therefore, after Yu Wenhu saw this change in the enemy's army, he was not alarmed and even wanted to laugh a little. He did not intend to let go of this kind of military exploits that came to his door. He even sent more troops in order to receive more.
Thousands more soldiers were dispatched to Zhongli City to defend and counterattack the enemy.
While Yu Wenhu was busy arranging personnel, the enemy forces on the other side also made new moves. Many ships left the shore and sailed southward from the river west of the river bridge.
Most of these ships were small in size and carried few people but had a large draft. They sailed very fast on the river and soon entered the river and were about to arrive at Zhongli City. At this time, people from various camps on the south bank were also walking along the river bridge.
Reinforcements are coming to Hezhou in a steady stream.
"Wait, wait a minute! The east thieves are going to burn the bridge!"
Several captains who were arranging defenses along the edge of the river island discovered clues from the enemy ships that were gradually approaching. These ships did not carry many soldiers, but they carried a lot of charcoal, grease, and other fire starters. They were more than a mile away from the river island.
Detour across the river at the outer position.
As soon as these ships passed the center line of the river, the armored boatmen on board set the boats on fire, and then jumped onto the nearby boats responsible for responding. Although the fire boats were unmanned, they were still moving forward under the wash of the water.
Sailing.
Due to the existence of the river bar, the water flow of the Yellow River is divided into two at this location. The water in the south flows around the river bar and flows eastward from under the southern river bridge, naturally washing the fire boats floating on the water towards it.
"Hurry up and stop these fire boats. Don't let them get close to the river bridge!"
Yuwen Hu was also quite surprised when he saw this scene, and he was busy trying to intercept the fire ship.
He was originally worried about the destruction of the northern section of the river bridge, believing that it restricted the army's ability to continue attacking north, so he did not relax the protection of the southern section of the river bridge. In addition to erecting some wooden guardrails on the west side of the river bridge,
The crew also prepared some long iron forks near the river bridge, which could be used to block the fire boats from approaching the river bridge.
At this time, seeing the Heqiao soldiers orderly blocking the fire boats on the river, Yu Wenhu couldn't help but secretly rejoice.
In fact, this was not the only battle between the east and west sides around the river bridge, and the method of burning the bridge was also used.
But generally speaking, those who would use this method are usually the weaker side, or simply put, the Western Dynasty chose to burn the bridge in order to prevent the East Dynasty from coming south, but the Eastern Dynasty did not burn the bridge.
Even though the two cities of Heqiao were lost before, the troops stationed on the north bank of the Eastern Dynasty did not choose to do this, but now they actually took the initiative to send out fire boats with the intention of burning the Heqiao. Why on earth is this?
Yu Wenhu frowned slightly and looked at the river with a solemn expression. The first batch of a dozen fire ships had all been intercepted, but there were dozens of similar ships on the upper river. It can be seen that
The east bandits were definitely not feinting to confuse their opponents, but really planned to set fire to the river bridge.
"Zhongshan Gong, do you want to evacuate part of the Zhongli City defenders? If the river bridge is burned down, our army's advance and retreat will be blocked, and we will be left alone here..."
Hou Longen saw that the enemy troops upstream were still sending fire boats down, and most of the river defense troops had been mobilized, either guarding the river bridge or entering Zhongli City, so he hurriedly came to Yuwen Hu's side.
He said with a worried reminder.
"What did you say!"
After hearing this, Yu Wenhu suddenly stared and asked quickly, but he was not angry, but seemed to be inspired by something: "Yes, if the river bridge is burned down, our army's advance and retreat will be hindered!
Why are the rebels afraid that I can advance and retreat freely? Quick, quick, send out scout boats and quickly approach the enemy camp to observe the enemy's movements!"
Enemy boats were sailing on the upper river to the west of the river bridge, but the lower river to the east was still unobstructed, allowing scouts to approach the enemy camp for inspection.
When things go wrong, there must be monsters. Yu Wenhu seriously doubted that the enemy suddenly made such an unusual move. Something very serious must have happened on the other side that affected most of the forces, so he was so afraid that he set fire to the bridge.
.
At this time, in the military camp outside Beizhong City, Heyang, Hu Luguang, while making a hasty evacuation gesture with his troops flying big flags, said to his father Hu Lüjin: "If the thief general is a reckless and reckless person, he will definitely be intolerable when he sees me like this.
An army is about to attack. If you are a careful and prudent person, you will not dare to leave too many troops in Zhongli City because you see the river bridge being attacked. If the thieves come to attack, I will break them by the river. If they don't come, I can take advantage of them.
The army retreated and attacked the central city!"
Hu Lujin couldn't help but his eyes brightened when he heard this. He naturally understood that if the situation continued to be as stalemate as before, there wouldn't be any big improvement. But if the army attacked, he was afraid that the offensive would be frustrated and that
Morale became even more depressed.
But now his son Hu Luguang actively set fire to the river bridge to cast stones to ask for directions, thereby forcing the opposing general to make countermeasures. He can choose the appropriate attack method based on the enemy's reaction.
"But what will happen if the river bridge is burned down and the reaction of the rebel army is not as expected?"
Hu Lvxian, who had been stationed here with his father, saw that his brother was full of praise for his father's advice as soon as he arrived, so he couldn't help but ask.
After Hu Luguang heard this, he smiled slightly: "Advance but not advance, retreat but not retreat, fools use troops, if we don't send out troops in large numbers and defeat them with one drum, how long will it take?"
While the Hulu family and his son were discussing their plans, the scouts who were spying on the enemy had returned by boat and reported to Yuwen Hu that the enemy camp was empty and the large group of troops were evacuating to the north.
"God helps me, God helps me! It must be that Governor Yang of Jianzhou has rushed out of the Taihang Mountains and attacked the enemy's rear. That's why the thieves along the river were so panicked. They wanted to divide their troops and defend them, fearing that our army would attack them. That's why
Burning bridges!”
After Yu Wenhu heard the news, he couldn't help but clapped his hands and applauded, with a look of excitement on his face. Apart from that, he couldn't think of any other possibilities.
After hearing this, all the officers and soldiers around him burst into laughter, and someone suggested: "Mr. Zhongshan, attack! The former Li Boshan was able to conquer the two cities with thousands of soldiers when he entered here. A certain number of elite soldiers were stationed here.
If you don’t show your merits, you are guilty!”
But some people frowned and said: "Things happened too hastily, and maybe there is something hidden behind the situation. It's better to stay put for the time being and wait and see what happens later before reacting..."
It was a good thing he didn't say this. When Yu Wenhu heard it, he immediately remembered that the enemy troops on the south bank of Luoshui had almost attacked the south city of Heyang by just a hair's breadth. After missing this perfect opportunity, they could never attack again.
There has been a breakthrough.
Naturally, he didn't want to end up like this, and he felt a sense of pride that heaven and earth would help him all the time, and everything was under control. He immediately decided: "Send three thousand elite troops to the river beach in advance, and after capturing the river beach, the whole army will
Attack!"
Following Yu Wenhu's order, the lieutenants and soldiers of Zhongli City put on their armor and boarded the ships. The three thousand soldiers were quickly assembled. Immediately, the large and small ships rushed away from the river island like arrows, heading straight to the north bank of the Yellow River.
Rush away.
At the same time, Yu Wenhu also personally climbed onto the Hezhou viewing platform, raised his arms and beat the war drum to cheer for the attacking soldiers.