In Huaiyang, Lin Fu learned that He Xiongqi and more than 10,000 elite troops had passed Yutai, a little later than Liu Miaozhen and others.
Although he knew that Yan Lu decisively sent out the second group of soldiers and horses, which made the battle situation in Xuzhou become mysterious and unpredictable, Lin Fu was helpless.
"The reconnaissance cavalry overtook Nahe Xiongqi's troops at Yutai at noon yesterday and went south to send a message. Yutai is about two hundred miles away from Xuzhou. The generals and soldiers of Nahe Xiongqi's troops all traveled on both horses. Calculating the time, it should be at
After dawn, we rushed to the outskirts of Xuzhou around noon to join the battle." Gao Zongting deduced.
Lin Fu nodded, and if He Xiongqi wanted to keep his troops on the outskirts of Xuzhou and immediately join the battlefield, they would have to travel two hundred miles day and night, which was almost the speed limit for the cavalry to advance from the snowy plains.
Malantou was extremely worried about the changes in the war in Xuzhou, but he resisted not requesting reinforcements to march eastward.
Not to mention that there are less than 5,000 infantry left in Huaiyang City. Even if we immediately gather troops and horses to rush to Xuzhou for support, we will arrive in Xuzhou behind Na Hexiong Qi.
If Liu Miaozhen could not defeat Chen Hansan or Zhou Zhizhong before Nahe Xiongqi arrived on the Xuzhou battlefield, and the Huaiyang reinforcements fell before Nahe Xiongqi arrived in Xuzhou, they would just be eaten by the enemy in batches - if Liu Miaozhen
If he can seize the initiative on Xuzhou's outer battlefield before Nahe Xiongqi and defeat Chen Hansan or Zhou Zhizhong first, even if Yanlu throws another 10,000 cavalry in, Liu Miaozhen can resist it. There is no need to do this here.
Reinforcements were sent over hastily.
At this time, we can only wait and see the development of the battlefield outside Xuzhou. Even if we want to send reinforcements, we have to wait until further news comes from the outside of Xuzhou. But considering that there is a clever plan to melt the ice, even if the battle of Xuzhou cannot be won, Liu Miaozhen must be able to make clever use of Jing.
Ma He went to divide the enemy's army and preserve its strength.
***********
The sky turned white, and at dawn, the troops and horses of the Huaidong Army stationed on the north bank of the Jingma River began to move. Almost in the blink of an eye, the initially silent camp began to boil and filled the sky.
Chen Hansan was sleeping in his clothes and had not slept soundly at all. When he heard something unusual happened on the north bank of Jingma River, Zhuji got out of bed, climbed up the high wall of the village and looked far away: the Huaidong Army had formed a battle on the north bank of Jingma River.
A gap opened in the north of the carriage camp, and countless soldiers and horses were pouring out of the gap and heading north.
In the direction of Xiaogushan Valley, for some unknown reason, several fires started burning since nightfall. This was where the Huaidong Army had hidden its ambush troops earlier. Now, Xiaogushan has been abandoned on the periphery of the battlefield, and Huaidong Army
Even if the Eastern Army hides too many ambush troops there, they will not be of use.
It's just that the fire was going on all night long, which made Chen Hansan feel a little confused.
"I guess the red-coat girl also knew that Bei Yan's elite cavalry was on their way to Xuzhou, so she raised her troops before dawn and launched a strong attack on Zhou Zhizhong's headquarters stationed at Shajiaji, in order to attack before General Nahe arrived with his troops.
Decide the outcome and achieve the goal of dividing and attacking..."
Ma Zhen and the generals of the Xuzhou Army strode over. Ma Zhen was still breathing, so he pointed out to Chen Hansan the intention of the Huaidong Army on the north bank of the Jingma River.
The enemy is strong and we are weak. The only way to win is to divide the enemy and defeat them one by one.
Liu Miaozhen chose Zhou Zhizhong instead of choosing this side as the main direction of attack. Chen Hansan felt a little comforted and secretly said: At least in the eyes of the red-coat girl, the Xuzhou soldiers are more difficult to attack than the new auxiliary army led by Zhou Zhizhong, at least Hong Kong
Ao Nu was not sure that she would be able to defeat the slightly larger Xuzhou soldiers before Nahe Xiongqi arrived with his troops.
Of course, it is not ruled out that Liu Miaozhen was in case they could not withstand the pressure and retreated to the city first.
The choice Chen Hansan has now is clear. He must send troops to cross the Jingma River and attack the Huaidong Army's rear route, preventing Liu Miaozhen from attacking Zhou Zhizhong - as long as he drags the battle to Nahe Xiongqi
If you lead your troops here, there will be no suspense about victory or defeat.
Of course, if the Xuzhou soldiers or Zhou Zhizhong's troops were defeated by Liu Miaozhen before Nahe Xiongqi arrived with his troops, the outcome of the subsequent battle would still be 50-50, and the outcome would be unpredictable.
Chen Hansan looked at the white fish belly exposed on the eastern horizon and counted the time. He thought that when the horsemen were gathering to cross the Jingma River, it would be daylight. He immediately ordered the envoys to return to Zhuzhou immediately.
The troops, even if they break up the camp and form a team, be prepared to cross the Jingma River by force.
The Jingma River is not difficult to cross. The ice is solidly frozen. Going down from the river embankment is only three or four feet deep. The remaining snow on the ice also makes the river ice less slippery. But the key is that Liu Miaozhen led the main force to attack Shajiaji.
On the back road, on the north bank of Jingma River, there will always be blocking troops left.
No matter what, Chen Hansan could not let Liu Miaozhen go to attack Shajiaji with all his strength - Zhou Zhongzhong knew that the 20,000 infantry and cavalry of the new auxiliary army gathered near Shajiaji were not as good as the elite of the Huaidong Army; the camp was built according to the Tuzhai.
It is relatively simple and crude, far from being comparable to the walled city; moreover, the Huaidong Army has been harassing the south bank of the Jingma River all night long. Even Chen Hansan believed that the main direction of the Huaidong Army today would be the south bank. Liu Miaozhen did not know that this would be the case.
Decisively march north to attack Zhou Zhizhong.
Now is the time when people are trapped and horses are tired. Chen Hansan is worried that Zhou Zhizhong may not be adequately prepared at Shajiaji and may be a little embarrassed to deal with the enemy. Under the rampage of the elite Huaidong cavalry led by Liu Miaozhen, they may not be able to defend that point.
He Xiongqi came with his troops.
Although the carriage camp on the north bank was further dissociated and the troops were further deployed, Huaidong's attack momentum was also completely revealed in the dim morning light. Liu Miaozhen asked Li Liang to lead two thousand cavalry to rush out as the front wing and rush to Shajiaji.
She dismounted to fight and stormed Zhou Zhizhong's camp, making sure to catch Zhou Zhizhong by surprise when he was short of men and horses. She personally led 10,000 elite infantrymen as the main force of the attack on Zhou Zhizhong's camp, and then suppressed them.
Above; Zhou Pu led 3,000 cavalry to cover the flanks of the formation; in the rear formation, he divided 4,000 infantry into two regiments, forming a formation with each other's horns, relying on carriages and shields, facing the Jingma River, Xuzhou City and Chenhan
The three troops were in strict formation to cover the retreat. At the center of the formation, Sun Zhuang led more than a thousand armored cavalry to prepare for any danger.
Chen Hansan smiled coldly, pointed at the Huaidong Army's formation on the north bank of the Jingma River, looked around at the Xuzhou generals standing under the wall, and said: "The girl in the red coat is too much.
Qianbuqi just wants to hold the back road and treat the Xuzhou general as if he has nothing?"
The generals under Chen Han's three divisions were harassed all night and had no rest. All of them had bloodshot eyes, like rabbit eyes. They could not help but yawn while sitting on the horse, and there was a fire in their hearts. Furthermore, they pulled Jing Ma
The strength of the troops on the south bank of the river was more than three times that of the Huaidong Army's troops covering the rear wing. On this relatively open plain at the foot of the river, they did not dare to fight a battle across the river, and they had no shame in hanging around.
Chen Hansan intended to provoke the generals, and the generals drove their horses to the wall of the village and asked to lead their troops to fight.
It is thirteen or four miles from Shajiaji to the north bank of the Jingma River. Although the Huaidong Army has a lot of 20,000 infantry and cavalry, there is no way that when the front line attacks Shajiaji, the rear line can still stand on the north bank of the Jingma River.
Defend. When Chen Hansan sent two thousand cavalry over and circled the flanks to look for fighters, the Huaidong Army's rear formation was forced to give up guarding the north bank of the Jingma River and move north to get closer to the main formation and close the formation.
It is tighter and reduces the opportunities for Chen Hansan's troops to penetrate from the flanks.
When the first ray of morning sunlight shone on the crystal clear ice of Jingma River, Chen Hansan was leading the main force of the Xuzhou infantry across the Jingma River and pressed towards the Huaidong Army's rear formation.
Tens of thousands of troops spread out, crowding the north bank of Jingma River and the wilderness at the western foot of Jiuli Mountain. There were forests of flags, trumpets and drums, and the sound of people shouting and horses honking, filling my ears. I could only hear the people on the battlefield.
The generals' blood was boiling and they forgot about life and death. They fought in a mass with swords, guns, shields and crossbows.
It was known that Chen Zhihu's troops were dragged to Qingzhou City to lure the enemy to defeat and were half-battled. In the end, thousands of remnant soldiers were gathered back, but their morale was also severely damaged. Ye Jiduo made up for it with the troops surrendered by Xuanfu.
However, in just two or three months, the combat effectiveness of Zhou Zhizhong's troops has dropped a bit compared to the Yanji War.
This time Zhou Zhizhong was assigned to serve as a partial division. Yuan Lishan, who made the decision at the time, also regarded them as a stone to throw stones at.
Liu Miaozhen led the main force to attack at dawn. Zhou Zhizhong only dared to rely on the existing simple camp to defend the stronghold, waiting for Na He Xiongqi to arrive with his elite troops before they could counterattack.
The Shajia concentration camp was very crude. Zhou Zhizhong played conservatively and withdrew his troops to the three strongholds that were at the corners of each other. The stronghold walls were soon in danger under the impact of the Huaidong Army's chariots and hammers -
-Liu Miaozhen divided his troops to press forward, and the soldiers and horses at the front directly pressed against the gate of the camp. At this time, Zhou Zhizhong couldn't even send troops out of the camp to fight back.
Zhou Zhizhong also knew that the heroic Qi could lead his troops to arrive at noon, so he subconsciously acted conservatively, but this conservative approach led to him falling into passivity.
Chen Hansan knew that not long after the battle, there was danger on Zhou Zhizhong's side. He cursed in his heart and thought, if Chen Zhihu had led a partial army to Xuzhou, maybe he would not have stopped at Wei Miaopo yesterday. Maybe Liu Miaozhen heard about it.
Hearing Chen Zhihu's name would make him retreat in shock, so Yuan Lishan chose Zhou Zhizhong to come over.
Chen Hansan had no choice but to grit his teeth and use all the troops at hand to attack the Huaidong Army's rear formation, forcing Liu Miaozhen not to dare to attack Shajiaji with all his strength. He bit the bullet and fought for an hour and a half, which was comparable to that of Jingma Hebei
Standing firmly on the bank, I never noticed the Jingma River behind the formation. Under the sunshine, the remaining snow covering the ice layer had long since lost any trace, and there were gradually muddy traces on the river ice.
Nine out of ten soldiers and horses fighting out of the city in Xuzhou have already entered the north bank of the Jingma River. Only two battalions of soldiers are left on the south bank to guard the Xiaozhai camp. After all, the Jingma River has two embankments that are sunken three or four feet, except for the occasional scouting horse and post rider.
After passing by, there were only a few soldiers standing on the river ice.
Even if someone noticed that the mud on the ice was tidal, they would only think that the remaining snow had melted under the trampling of horses and horses, leaving a little snow water on the river ice; they would only have thought that it was the black mud brought by the hooves of human feet and horses that made the river ice.
There is a black patch here and a dark patch there.
No one thought carefully about the fact that under the sharp north wind that cut like a knife, even the remaining snow would blow up dry snow for two or three days. How could it melt into water and make the river ice so muddy when people and horses stepped on it?
Nahe Xiongqi led his troops to Wei Miao Slope, where Zhou Zhizhong launched troops last night. It was less than thirty miles away from the Jiuli Mountain battlefield. He was taking a short rest and sent an outpost here to keep the Huaidong Army tightly entangled.
After he led his troops to rest for a while, he came over and defeated Huaidong in one go.
In the past few years since the rise of the Huaidong Army, although there have been occasional minor setbacks, there has never been a precedent for the main force to be crippled after being organized into an organic formation. Seeing that a big victory was within reach, Chen Hansan was excited, but also vaguely anxious before victory——
He wanted to perform better, beating his horses and scolding, urging his soldiers, and pressing the Huaidong Army's rear formation. He hoped in his heart that he would defeat the Huaidong Army array in front of him before Nahe Xiongqi arrived, so that he could be called
The monarchs and ministers of Great Yan will not despise Chen Hansan.
***********
Sun Zhuang squinted his eyes and looked at the sky. At this moment, he could only rely on the sun to roughly judge the time. He thought it was almost the twilight hour, right? That kid, He Xiongqi, should not be too far away from the Jiuli Mountain battlefield.
Perhaps they had known a long time ago that the fight here was about to be urgent, and they were ordering the soldiers to take a final rest in the distance, waiting for them to press forward with all their strength to deliver the final sharp blow.
Sun Zhuang held his horse armor in front of him, and his armor and pockets were all neatly dressed. The horse armor was also put on a moment ago, shining silver in the sun. Facing the upcoming bloody battle, Sun Zhuang was still thinking wildly.
, waiting for further orders from Liu Miaozhen from the front line.
Zhao Bao came over with the horse, holding the reins, holding the horse's belly with his legs, and said: "The river ice in the eastern section of Gushan River has begun to rattle under the heavy pressure of the carriage, and there are branch-like cracks. It cannot bear the weight."
signs; the Jingma River here has been trampled by humans and horses, and the ice layer should be cut thinner - Liu Shuai asked us to be ready immediately, when Master Zhou and Li Xiaowei lead the cavalry to press forward from the east and west, that is,
In order to fight back..."
"Okay!" Sun Zhuang's eyes widened and narrowed, with a fierce look in his eyes. The veins in his hands holding the pole were exposed, like a lazy man. At this time, he suddenly showed infinite strength and raised his fingers.
Tian looked around and shouted, "Chen Hansan is a thief who has no faith and rebels here and there. I know that you all look down on him, so I will give him a good look today!"
"Give him a good look!" All the generals and soldiers agreed loudly and got on their horses one after another.
When Chen Hansan is about to drop his gun, he must attack Chen Hansan quickly and fiercely. The main force of infantry attacking Shajiaji will naturally not be able to catch up. He will stop the offensive and shrink slightly to prevent Zhou Zhizhong's troops from fighting out from the Shajiaji camp and counterattack.
The main force to attack Chen Hansan was composed of Sun Zhuang, Zhou Pu, and Li Liang leading 6,000 elite cavalry, and 4,000 infantry deployed in the rear to cooperate with them to compress Chen Hansan's troops crossing the Jingma River from three directions.
, press toward the south bank!
The Huaidong Army's counterattack was fast and fierce. Led by Sun Zhuang, more than a thousand armored soldiers who had been waiting at the center of the formation for a long time were the main force in the middle, and more than a thousand infantry armored soldiers were filled on each wing to cooperate. They immediately defeated Chen Hansan.
The front wings of the Huaidong Army's rear formation were unable to shrink in time, resulting in numerous casualties.
Of course, Chen Hansan was prepared for the Huaidong Army's rear thorns, and immediately mobilized troops and generals to ensure that the position was defended. However, what Chen Hansan did not expect was that when the Huaidong Army counterattacked, they would attack Shajiaji's front line for protection.
The cavalry on the flanks were all moved back, and almost six thousand elite cavalry were pressed here to charge into the battle.
Chen Hansan could barely withstand the current counterattack of 3,000 cavalry, but Zhou Pu and Li Liang each led more than 2,000 cavalry to attack from the flanks regardless of casualties. Chen Hansan deployed flanks as cover, and the total number was less than 2,000 cavalry.
The cavalry was quickly defeated and forced to retreat into the open space between the infantry formations to avoid the sharp attack.
With just this counterattack, the area controlled by Chen Han San's troops on the north bank of the Jingma River was reduced by nearly half, and the cavalry was forced to retreat between the infantry formations, making the entire battlefield crowded and cramped.
Chen Hansan stood on the half-chariot and looked at the entire battlefield, frowning. Based on his experience, the Huaidong Army seemed to rely on the strength and bravery of its soldiers to forcefully defeat them in this attack regardless of casualties.
!
"This is the last struggle of the Red Coat Army!" Ma Zhen walked under the half-chariot, raised his head and said to Chen Hansan, "It's just that the battlefield here has become crowded, which makes people a little worried. Should Chen Shuai go back first?"
Watch the battle from the South Bank!”
"No, how can the commander-in-chief move the flag lightly at this time?" Chen Hansan said firmly, "Let Ma Biao withdraw to the south bank, and let Chen Jinkui lead his men to fill in forward!"
Ma Biao himself was a general at the rear of the palace, with more than 2,000 men stationed along the north embankment of Jingma River. Removing the south bank would not have any impact on the morale of the army; Chen Jinkui was Chen Hansan's nephew and one of the two schools of the Chinese Army. Let him
Leading troops to press forward is to mobilize the elite of the Chinese army to frustrate the spirit of the Huaidong Army.
Withdraw the troops and horses from the rear to the south bank, and then push the elite troops from the center to the front, and the entire array will be able to regain order from the crowding.
The flags and drums and flying horses sent a message. After hearing the order, a group of Xuzhou soldiers standing up and down the north embankment of the Jingma River immediately went down the embankment and rushed to the south bank to form an array. They might be able to counterattack the Huaidong Army's flank from the south bank - this section of Jingma River.
The Ma River is about twenty feet wide. Countless people rushed down the river embankment. General Ma Biao and dozens of soldiers and cavalry were at the forefront. As soon as they crossed the middle of the river, they heard the "click-click" sound from their horses!
Ma Biao subconsciously reined in the reins and looked down in shock. Just on the horse's hoof, the twig-like cracks seemed to be growing rapidly and spreading around!
"The ice is going to crack!" I don't know who shouted this. Ma Biao whipped the horse and ran towards the south bank. As soon as the horse's hooves landed on the south bank, he heard a loud crash behind him and the river ice cracked!