If Wei Zhengju is still there, Liu Gang can find an excuse and leave. Anyway, he is not familiar with military affairs and knows everything about the government and the public. Moreover, with Wei Zhengju, a disciple of Jingzhao Weishi who has made a dazzling performance in recent years, it is not a big deal.
He ran away from the battle.
But now Wei Zhengju actually escaped before him, completely shirking the responsibility of guarding Baqiao on his head, but he couldn't leave even if he wanted to.
As soon as he leaves, the 30,000-strong army will be dispersed. By then, the Youtun guards will capture Baqiao without bloodshed, not only threatening Chang'an, but also cutting off the important communication channel between Guanlong and the outside world. Changsun Wuji will be held accountable. How can he escape punishment?
In my heart, I felt like greeting the eighteenth generation of Wei Zhengju's ancestors, but there was nothing I could do about it. The bastard's legs and feet were too fast and he couldn't catch up, so he had to bite the bullet and arrange his troops...
He knows how to arrange troops in formation!
Not only did he not know it, he couldn't trust any of the lieutenant generals in the army. These guys all came from various powerful families. They were all jealous and jealous of him being appointed by Changsun Wuji to guard Baqiao. To say "replacing" him was an understatement.
I wish I could let Youtunwei rush into the army right away and kill him, the commander-in-chief...
The struggle for interests between the aristocratic families is always accompanied by bloodshed and cruelty. Compared with the confrontation between the two countries, they are no less willing to give in and use all possible means.
Since we couldn't run away and didn't trust others, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask the entire army to take up their positions and perform their duties. Everyone in the army was also a little panicked. Although there were not many people who were proficient in military affairs, they still had basic common sense.
Yes, six or seven thousand fine cavalry are rushing towards us, but our side remains unchanged and faces the enemy with the same array as when we are usually stationed. Is this possible?
It's obviously not possible! Everyone in the army was in panic.
Then, the rushing Youtun Guard cavalry roared in...
Gao Kan led three thousand fine cavalry, one person and two horses, so the rebel scouts mistakenly thought that the number was about six to seven thousand, which was twice the difference. However, when Gao Kan was twenty miles away from Baqiao, he ordered his soldiers to stop advancing and put them on the spot.
When they change horses and launch a mass charge, there is no difference in the turbulent wave-like momentum.
The Tang Dynasty has been a country for a long time. Although sporadic wars have continued over the years, not every army can go through battle formations, especially the Sixteen Guards guarding Guanzhong, less than half of whom are often on the front line.
Among them, the one that has fought the most and won the most in recent years is the Youtun Guard. The soldiers in the army followed Fang Jun to the north and conquered the west, and they were invincible. Not only did they have high morale and unparalleled confidence, but their battle experience was unparalleled.
.
At this moment, 3,000 cavalry and 6,000 war horses were heading south along the east bank of Ba River, rushing forward wildly. The cavalry broke through the ice and snow by the river, and the galloping charge was like a stormy sea, fully displaying the power of the cavalry's surprise attack.
Thirty thousand rebels were stationed on the east side of Baqiao. The camp was endless and seemed to be as stable as a mountain. However, when the right guards rushed into the camp, they saw thousands of people lined up with spears and crossbows.
, it collapsed instantly under the bombardment of the sky-shaking thunder, and the entire military camp exploded.
Most of the rebel soldiers came from servants, bankers, and tenants of wealthy families. These people were not included in the recruitment of government troops, so most of them had never experienced battles and did not know the power of cavalry charges. However, after all, there were still a few regular troops.
The soldiers knew best how brutal the massacre would be if the infantry array was dispersed by the cavalry, so when they saw the spear array being dispersed, these soldiers did not care about anything and ran back.
However, these regular troops were the backbone of the entire army. The slaves, bankers, and tenants all regarded them as docile. Seeing the backbone of the army retreating, the army was immediately panicked, and the rabble who were just messing around followed closely behind.
The military camp first rioted and then collapsed...
Liu Gang, who was sitting guarding the central military tent, was completely dumbfounded when he saw this scene and couldn't believe it - he knew that he had no commanding ability and that this battle was very likely to fail, but he failed too quickly, right?!
We have to resist for a while and then retreat. Then I can explain to Changsun Wuji that it is not because our army is incompetent, but because the enemy army is too fierce!
But it would be too unseemly to collapse without any resistance...
However, he could no longer think too much about it at this time. When the soldiers around him saw that the entire military camp had collapsed in commotion, and the sky was full of rebellion, they quickly took turns carrying Liu Gang on their backs and retreated backwards. The Ba Bridge was already crowded with broken troops.
Can you squeeze through? The soldiers were in a hurry, and no one gave way despite being scolded. He suddenly drew his sword and knocked down the few soldiers blocking the way to the ground. He shouted angrily: "Commander is entering the city, make way quickly!"
Several soldiers were caught off guard and were knocked to the ground with blood flowing freely. They died on the spot without saying a word. The surrounding soldiers were dumbfounded and forgot to move forward. For a while, the Ba Bridge was blocked with water...
Liu Gang's personal soldiers waved their swords repeatedly, threatening and slashing at the same time, finally angering these defeated soldiers.
These defeated soldiers were not the servants and slaves of the Liu family in Hedong. Seeing Liu Gang killing people repeatedly in order to escape, their anger gradually accumulated. Someone suddenly shouted in the crowd: "As a commander, you cannot lead an army to kill the enemy. You can't even line up your troops."
We didn’t know how to set up the formation, so we were massacred by the enemy’s cavalry, but now we are still trying to escape for our lives by stepping on our corpses, how are we any different from animals?”
The anger was instantly aroused by this sentence, especially on the east bank of Baqiao. The cavalry of the Youtun Guards drove straight into the military camp. The force was like a broken bamboo under the thunder of iron hooves. An unknown number of soldiers were slaughtered by him. Many people panicked and even had to retreat.
Going above the Ba River, the surging crowd crushed the ice, and countless people screamed and fell into the icy water...
"Because of his incompetence, this person suffered a disastrous defeat!"
"What's the use of keeping such waste?"
"kill him!"
The anger completely broke out under the instigation of public opinion. He would definitely not dare to kill Liu Gang. He would be severely punished afterwards. They are all servants, slaves, and livestock among various families. Kill a group of them to give an explanation to the Liu family in Hedong.
is required.
The defeated soldiers were not stupid either. They squeezed wildly and almost instantly pushed Liu Gang and his soldiers from the Ba Bridge into the river...
It was severe winter at this time, the weather was bitterly cold, and the river was covered with a thick layer of ice. When there were many people, people could step on the ice and fall into the water, but Liu Gang and others fell solidly onto the ice when they fell from the bridge to the river.
Above him, Liu Gang hit his head on the ice and fainted.
No one paid attention to the bridge, and the surging crowd rushed towards the west of the bridge. However, the usually spacious Ba Bridge seemed too narrow at this time, unable to accommodate too many people across the bridge, and the people behind could not squeeze in. In the distance, the Youtun Guards Cavalry
They ran rampant, splattered with blood all the way, and immediately fled in fear, heading towards Lantian in the south, Lishan in the east, and Xinfeng in the northeast.
In the spacious and flat area to the east of Baqiao, tens of thousands of broken troops were chased by three thousand Youtun Guards cavalry and fled in all directions. They fled in panic like dolphins and dogs. Their weapons and armor were thrown all over the ground, and the tents collapsed and became chaotic.
The Guanlong army on the west side of Baqiao was in a tight formation, blocking the east side of the bridge. Countless sharp spears formed a dense wall at the bridge head. The fleeing soldiers were inevitably strung into bloody gourds by the spears, and could only escape from both sides.
Jump onto the river.
While the defenders on the west side of Baqiao blocked the bridge, they looked dumbfoundedly at the Youtun Guard cavalry galloping across the wide and flat fields on the west side under the heavy snow, treating tens of thousands of Guanlong troops like cattle, sheep and dolphins.
Like a dog, it kills and drives away at will...
This scene is really shocking. The Guanlong army prides itself on having a large number of people, but when faced with an invincible army like Youtunwei, which is galloping across the world, it feels cold from the bottom of its heart, its morale is flagging, and its morale is in turmoil.
…
Gao Kan took the lead and chased for a while. He felt refreshed and high-spirited. The battle had reached this level. Who would have thought that the 30,000 rebels would collapse and run away in panic with just one charge?
After chasing and killing for a while, Gao Kan gathered his troops and did not dare to delay. If the Guanlong army reacted and blocked the retreat, it would be a big trouble.
The three thousand cavalry quickly gathered together and headed straight for Baqiao under the command of Gao Kan. The rebels on the west side of Baqiao were so frightened that their palms were sweating and they were ready for battle.
Fortunately, Gao Kan only stopped when he came not far from Ba Bridge. The soldiers behind him jumped off their horses. The two of them held up large shields. The two of them crouched and hid behind the shields, and quickly approached the bridge head.
.
A wave of arrows were fired from the rebel formation on the west side of Baqiao, but they were all blocked by shields.
Several soldiers quickly came to a position near the center of Baqiao, tinkered for a while, and then quickly retreated...
The rebels on the west side of Baqiao were confused at first, thinking that the Youtun Guards were trying to capture Baqiao, but that didn't seem right. Three thousand cavalry gathered far away from the west of the bridge, just a stone's throw away. They looked at the few soldiers.
Withdrew to the west of the bridge and mounted their horses. The entire Youtun Guard Cavalry slowly turned around and seemed to be leaving. Only then did the rebel general react and shouted: "Get on the bridge quickly. They must have planted gunpowder to blow up the Ba River."