Dozens of ships lowered their sails and docked at the shore. The iron anchors grabbed the sand at the bottom of the river bed. The turbulent river water rolled down as if the Tianhe River was rolled back. The hulls were shaken by the impact of the river water, causing the connection between the hulls and the anchors to sway.
The chains were stretched tightly.
Pieces of planks slid down the side of the ship, and the other end stretched directly into the shallow water by the river. Countless armed soldiers stepped on the planks and rushed to the shore like a tide, and then formed formations in the heavy rain.
Their armor was washed away by the rain, and their eyebrows were obscured by the rain, but these thousands of people remained motionless, as solid as a rock.
On the deck, Liu Rengui and Xi Junmai stood side by side. The former looked at the heavy armored infantry that was about to be assembled on the shore, and said solemnly: "This battle must use the force of thunder to frighten the enemy, so no matter what measures the Xingyang defenders take,
, you don’t need to pay attention, just go all out. If Zheng Rentai is a smart man, he will find a way to send people to negotiate, and you just listen to my orders."
In a word, without my order, even if the Xingyang garrison raises the white flag and surrenders, you cannot stop the attack.
"Here!"
Xi Junmai naturally understood the purpose of this move. If it is false, it is true, and if it is true, it is just false. Although it is expected that Zheng Rentai will definitely refuse to defend Xingyang and die together, but if he is so stubborn, then he will take advantage of the opportunity to enter Xingyang and completely destroy the Zheng family.
destruction.
It was a pity that the rain was too heavy today and the power of the artillery was limited. He could not blow up the city wall of Xingyang with a bombardment first. However, he was full of confidence in the combat power of his heavily armored infantry. The reason why the Navy had been able to roam the oceans in recent years was to dominate the oceans.
Sebari also relied not only on the advantages of firearms.
The combat power of soldiers and cavalry is equally unrivaled in the world.
Liu Rengui patted Xi Junmai on the shoulder and said warmly: "Go ahead, I'll have the armored cavalry disembark and gather together to stabilize the rear for you. Just keep moving forward and don't have to worry."
"Here!"
Xi Junmai knelt down on one knee to perform a military salute, responded again, then stood up, stepped on the plank and disembarked from the boat, followed by dozens of soldiers behind him.
Arriving in front of the assembled battle formation, he drew out his horizontal sword with a "clang" sound. The tip of the sword pointed at Xingyang City in the distance. Raindrops fell on the bright blade of the sword and splashed up. He said loudly: "Whoever climbs first will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins.
Turn three! Kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The soldiers in full armor hissed in response, and the sound soared into the sky. Under the heavy reward, their morale was naturally high. Then, under the leadership of their respective corps commanders, team commanders, and brigade commanders, they braved the pouring rain and slowly rushed towards Xingyang City.
.
Like a black tide sweeping across the river beach, it is powerful and powerful.
Behind them, more than a thousand armored cavalry also disembarked from the ship. After forming an array, they slowly pressed forward along the rear line of heavy armored infantry.
…
On Xingyang City, Zheng Rentai endured the pain, lying on the arrow stack and looking into the distance, but the rain curtain formed by the pouring rain blocked his sight, making it impossible to detect the situation in the distance.
But the scouts' fast horses galloped back and forth, constantly passing the news back.
The navy ship has docked and anchored!
The heavily armored infantry disembarked and have assembled on the shore!
The strength reaches 3,000 men!
The heavily armored infantry began to attack, and the navy ships lifted anchor and moved to the center of the river!
A thousand armored cavalry have been assembled, covering the heavy armored infantry in the rear formation, and are coming towards Xingyang!
The enemy is ten miles away!
Seven miles!
Three miles!
…
The city gates were closed tightly, and the defenders were waiting on the city, with serious faces and holding the swords and guns in their hands. The rest of the soldiers stood in the city in the heavy rain, ready to reinforce the defense at any time.
Everyone was frightened and suppressed the tension in their hearts. After all, the two sides had a big battle in Banzhu not long ago, which ended in a disastrous defeat for the Zheng family in Xingyang. Now the enemy is chasing the Zheng family in Xingyang City, obviously hoping to capture Zheng family in Xingyang city.
He was defeated in one fell swoop, and then without any worries, he headed straight for Luoyang.
Facing the powerful enemy that had just defeated them, the defenders lost all confidence.
Even though the navy is famous all over the world for its power in water warfare, who dares to underestimate its power in land warfare?
Finally, under the distant gazes of Zheng Rentai and other generals, a black line suddenly appeared from where the eyes could see in the rain curtain. First it was a shallow line, and then it turned into a black tide, sweeping over the sky and covering the sky.
Come.
Zheng Rentai was holding the arrow stack with his hand, his face was a little pale, and his fingers had veins bulging from the exertion. His expression changed as he looked at the naval soldiers sweeping towards him like a tide.
A general next to him hesitated and whispered: "Commander, what should I do?"
To fight or not to fight?
If we don't fight, we can't explain to the other Shandong aristocratic families. After all, we are all in alliance and united. Once Xingyang falls, Luoyang will be in danger, Hangu Pass will be in danger, and Tongguan Pass will be in danger. If we fight, it will definitely be a life-and-death battle, and victory will be natural.
It's best, but once the battle is defeated and the navy soldiers enter the city, who knows what kind of revenge they will take!
This is Xingyang, where the ancestral court of the Zheng family is located. If the violent and angry navy with heavy casualties retaliates and massacres the city... Although this possibility is very small, it is definitely not impossible!
Zheng Rentai stood behind the arrow stack, watching the enemy troops approach like a tide, and finally made some move. He turned around and said to a general: "Leave the city immediately and inform the enemy troops that I am willing to discuss surrender with Liu Rengui."
No one knew whether his move was true or not, but the general behind him immediately ran down from the city. While the enemy was still far away, he quickly opened a gap in the city gate and rode out with several of his subordinates. They were frightened.
He ran towards the charging enemy troops.
A few dozen feet away, he slowed down his horse and shouted on his horse: "My commander-in-chief has issued an order and is willing to discuss surrender with General Liu Rengui!"
The enemy turned a deaf ear and did not slow down.
Maybe the rain was too heavy and the other party couldn't hear... The general was a little anxious, so he had to wait where he was. When the soldiers rushing in front of the other party were close to a stone's throw away, he said loudly again: "My commander-in-chief is here."
Order, willing to discuss surrender with General Liu Rengui!"
This time the other party probably heard it clearly, but what he responded to was...an arrow that penetrated the wind and rain.
Because the rain was too heavy and the rain curtain was deep, it not only blocked the sight but also affected the hearing. Therefore, it was not until the arrow passed through the rain curtain and reached directly in front of his eyes that the general noticed it. With his liver and gallbladder broken, he leaned his upper body on the horse, but
It was already too late, there was a "pop" sound and the arrow penetrated the flesh, nailing the left shoulder hard.
The general groaned and reacted so quickly that he didn't have time to pull out the arrow cluster. He immediately turned his horse's head and ran away with his soldiers.
Fortunately, the heavily armored infantry just jogged because they wanted to maintain their physical strength. The scouts and light cavalry on both sides also turned a blind eye to him and allowed him to run all the way back to the city to call for the gates to be opened and return to the city.
Zheng Rentai had also come down from the city. While listening to the general describing the situation, he strode back to the barracks, his face as sinking as water.
I thought that when the other party made this attack posture, they wanted to exert pressure to force him to leave the city and surrender, but unexpectedly, the other party was unwilling to even talk, and almost shot the messenger he sent to death with an arrow.
Of course, this does not mean that the other party really wants to storm Xingyang City regardless of casualties. Maybe it is just that they are very determined and do not want to compromise too much in the negotiations and want to seize more initiative... After all, the Zheng family in Xingyang has hundreds of people in Xingyang.
In 2007, Xingyang City was under control from top to bottom. With only a few thousand troops of the navy, even if they finally broke through the city and won, there would be heavy casualties. Liu Rengui pointed his sword at Tongguan, and he might not be willing to spend too much time and money in Xingyang.
casualties.
But Zheng Rentai didn't dare to bet, because he couldn't bear the consequences of losing the bet...
He raised his head and looked at the generals around him, and finally cast his eyes on his eldest son Zheng Xuanguo, and said in a deep voice: "You should leave the city immediately from the east gate, take a detour to the bank of the Yellow River, and ask to see Liu Rengui and ask him to stop attacking the city. The Zheng family wishes...
drop!"
Zheng Xuanguo's heart sank and he hurriedly said: "Father..."
Zheng Rentai raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and said decisively: "My father knows very well what you want to say, but at this point in the situation, we can only turn our backs on the Shandong family. Otherwise, once the city is broken, no one can guarantee that the Navy will do anything."
What measures... No matter what, the inheritance of the Zheng family in Xingyang cannot be interrupted!"
Surrendering to the Navy is equivalent to severing oneself from the Shandong family. The original allies will become life-or-death enemies because of this betrayal.
But even so, he couldn't risk the inheritance of the Zheng family in Xingyang.
The reason why he refused to surrender under the naval offensive was just to ask for more benefits and gain more initiative. However, it was obvious that his thoughts had been clearly understood by Liu Rengui.
"Here!"
Zheng Xuanguo did not dare to say anything more. After receiving the order, he quickly exited the barracks, put on a raincoat, took the bamboo hat and put it on his head. Surrounded by dozens of soldiers, he got on his horse and left the east city in the pouring rain, walking along the
The official road bypassed the naval force launching an attack due north and galloped towards the bank of the Yellow River.