On the Lingzhou front line, the imperial court's river-crossing operation to suppress the rebel army began at midnight.
This time the action was very sudden. After yesterday's post-war summary meeting failed to reach a unanimous result and broke up in an unhappy situation, everyone thought that the cross-river operation might be postponed indefinitely. Or at least until it was confirmed that Ningxia
This will only proceed after the city has been truly captured and the rebels have been cut off from the supply of food and supplies.
However, at midnight, Yang Yiqing suddenly ordered a cross-river operation.
Only a few generals knew about this order in advance, including Shi Yong. This time, Gu Dayong and others did not even hear the slightest news. After the order was issued, Gu Dayong and Yang Yu hurriedly got up and rushed to
When the military office went to confirm the news, Yang Yiqing had already led the generals to the dock.
"Yang Yiqing, this old guy, simply doesn't take Eunuch Gu, the eunuch in charge of the army, seriously. He didn't even notify us of such a big event. It's really abominable." Yang Yu cursed loudly.
Gu Dayong's face was gloomy and he whispered: "Stop scolding, Yang Yiqing did this on purpose. He doubted us."
"Doubt us? What do you mean, father-in-law?" Yang Yu asked in surprise.
Gu Dayong frowned and said: "Our action to prevent crossing the river made Yang Yiqing doubt our motives. He even suspected that we would leak military information, so he did this. Yang Yu, we have to be careful. Maybe what we did has been
Got it."
Yang Yu stared in shock and was speechless for a long time.
The operation of crossing the river was carried out in the darkness, without torches, no noise, and no movement. All soldiers were required to board the boat quietly and force the crossing without making any noise.
This time, Shi Yong was appointed as the vanguard and led ten large ships as the lead of the front army crossing the river. This was Shi Yong's strong request.
Shi Yong, who was slandered by Gu Dayong that day as a possible collaborator, although he got the support of Yang Yiqing, he could not prove his loyalty after all. This time, he hoped to take the lead and prove himself with practical actions. Yang Yiqing gave him this opportunity
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The scale of this river crossing exceeded any previous one. Except for forty large ships, all available river crossing vessels, whether small boats, sampans or sheepskin rafts, were all used. The number of soldiers and horses crossing the river was
More than nine thousand people.
Under the dim starlight, on the dark river surface, there are densely packed river-crossing boats of huge scale.
Yang Yiqing stood on the bow of a large ship, looking at the other side with a serious expression. Although it was so dark there that he couldn't see anything.
At this moment, his mood was complicated and difficult to describe. After the failure of the previous crossing, his prestige in the army had dropped a lot, and many people had distrusted him. In addition, the imperial court was responsible for this failure.
He will definitely be held accountable. Gu Dayong will definitely report it to the court. He is not worried about being punished, but he is worried that in this way, the huge credit for quelling the rebellion will be compromised and Zhang Yanling will seize all of it.
Therefore, he must reverse this situation. He must not stand still. Zhang Yanling has occupied Ningxia City, and Yang Yiqing believes this news 100%. Shi Yong has already reported to him about Qiu Yue, and also took out the information before
The letters exchanged with Qiu Yue served as proof. So Yang Yiqing supported Shi Yong that night.
However, Yang Yiqing actually had his own plans for doing this. From now on, he must reach a certain tacit understanding with Zhang Yanling and let Zhang Yanling resolve the impact of the failure of the previous river crossing for him. He believed that Zhang Yanling was a smart man.
After he wrote that letter to Zhang Yanling, he would realize what he meant.
After the meeting broke up that night, Yang Yiqing wrote a letter to Shi Yong and asked him to send it to Zhang Yanling through the Falcon. In the letter, Yang Yiqing not only asked Zhang Yanling to send troops to help him cross the river, but also asked him to send troops to help him cross the river.
Great use in evening valley
The ghost story told to Yang Yu was told to Zhang Yanling. Of course, in addition to this, Yang Yiqing also described the failed process of crossing the river and expressed his apology for not listening to Zhang Yanling's dissuasion. At the end of the letter, Yang Yiqing wrote a sentence.
"...This counterinsurgency operation is not a matter for the Marquis alone, nor for me, Yang Yiqing. It is a major event for the imperial court. The success of the Marquis' attack on Ningxia City and the failure of my crossing the river are all related to the overall situation. Yang is willing to use
The failure of crossing the river was due to the success of the attack by the Marquis. But it was beneficial to the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion, and Yang regretted it..."
Yang Yiqing believed that when this letter was delivered to Zhang Yanling, he would definitely understand what he meant. If he pretended to be confused, then he would obviously not be responsible for the failure of crossing the river alone. As the commander-in-chief of the counter-rebellion army,
, he left the army and went his own way without permission after taking office and disappeared without a trace. He, Zhang Yanling, must bear the responsibility.
It is imperative to cross the river tonight. There were some riots in the enemy camp last night. This is considered to be a problem within the enemy army. Perhaps it is a sign that the rebel army has been disorganized after the attack on Ningxia City.
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However, even if there was no riot last night, Yang Yiqing decided to launch a river crossing operation as soon as possible, and at all costs. For this crossing, Yang Yiqing specially arranged a fleet of boats upstream to guard. Dozens of bamboo rafts cruised in front of the main attack fleet.
The upstream position is to prevent the enemy from attacking with fire.
At the same time, in order to deal with the obstacles that the enemy had sunk at the ferry and prevent the big ship from docking, Yang Yiqing adopted Shi Yong's suggestion and prepared a small boat on the big ship. Once blocked, he would put down the small boat and rush over the obstacle and rush to the ferry.
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As for asking Zhang Yanling to send troops to help cross the river, it was just a gesture. Yang Yiqing did not expect to rely on the cavalry coming from Ningxia City as help. The reason why he asked Zhang Yanling to send troops was to turn this river-crossing battle into a battle for him.
A battle that he and Zhang Yanling cooperated with, just like the failed river-crossing battle before, was not his personal behavior.
The profound meaning of this is of great significance.
The mighty fleet passed the middle of the river, and the ten large ships in front began to accelerate. At this moment, there was no need to hide any traces. As the horn sounded, all the ships lit torches and raised their sails.
, and began to move forward at full speed.
For a time, nearly 150 large and small ships were like stars suddenly shining after the dark clouds dispersed in the dark night sky, covering the entire ferry river. Everyone gritted their teeth nervously, and their pupils shrank.
Be prepared for a hard blow from the other side.
There was movement on the other side, fire shone on the top of the cliff, and people were shaking on the pier. Artillery began to roar, bursting with brilliant fire on the dark cliff top. After one after another explosions and fires, everything returned to silence.
among.
The imaginary scene of the cannonballs roaring in and hitting the river did not happen. The imaginary sound of wind and thunder when the crossbow bolts pierced the air did not appear. Everything was unexpected, and the fleet crossing the river did not encounter any long-range attack.
Yang Yiqing frowned and stared at the opposite side, doubts rising in his heart, and he felt a little nervous.
"Is there any movement in the upstream fleet? Have you found any traces of the rebel fireships?" Yang Yiqing shouted.
The signalman on the boat sent out a light signal to inquire, and the bamboo rafts wandering upstream sent back a signal that everything was quiet and nothing unusual.
Yang Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief, but he felt that the other party would definitely wait for the moment when the ship was blocked by obstacles to launch a violent attack. It would also be fatal. He had seen the scene where the other party's arrows rained down from all over the sky. Maybe the rebels
Waiting for that devastating moment.
"Keep the formation and send the order to Shi Yong. The large ships of the former army rush into the ferry at a hundred paces to test the enemy's situation." Yang Yiqing gave the order loudly.
Ten large former army ships led by Shi Yong were lined up, with extremely eye-catching red lights hanging on the boats. This time Shi Yong led a thousand soldiers and horses from the original Lingzhou City. During the two river crossings, Shi Yong and him
None of the soldiers directly under his command participated. But this time, Shi Yong took the initiative to volunteer and led a thousand of his brothers to the front as a suicide squad.
Hanging a red wind lantern on the ship was not only to attract the enemy's firepower, but also to express his determination to fight to the death. Of course, Shi Yong did this not only to prove his innocence, but also believed that the rebels on the other side of the bank had been defeated in Ningxia City.
After that, he was at the end of his efforts. He was confident that he would successfully land ashore.
Amidst the thunderous sound of war drums and horns, the first large ship Shi Yong was on was the first to touch the underwater obstacle. The huge impact caused the entire hull of the large ship to shake violently. Even with advance preparations, all the soldiers on board were still
I stumbled around and fell a lot.
Shi Yong held a shield and stared at the other side. From this distance, he could already see the outline of the terrain on the pier on the other side. He was waiting for the fierce blow from the opponent's arrow rain. He needed to quickly put down the boat to break through the obstacle and rush through the gap after the first blow.
To the other side.
However, the attack from the other side was delayed, so Shi Yong decided not to wait.
"Put down the boat and force ashore. Brothers, kill them."
As Shi Yong's roar echoed on the river, three small boats on each large ship were lowered from the stern, and all the soldiers on board began to lower themselves onto the small boats along the ropes. As the other boats arrived one after another, dozens of small boats
Amid the shouts, he rushed towards the pier on the other side a hundred steps away.
The archers on the big ship who arrived later began to fire random arrows at the dock. This was a means of counter-suppression. Even though there was no arrow coming from the other side, this step was still executed meticulously.
There was a loud bang-bang-bang sound. It was not the sound of weapons being fired, but the sound of the boat hitting the dock. The soldiers on the boat jumped up and rushed onto the dock at the top of their lungs, rushing into the empty darkness.
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When Yang Yiqing's warship docked, the white color of fish belly was already exposed in the eastern sky, and the surrounding scenery was slowly becoming clearer.
Yang Yiqing stepped onto the empty pier on the other side. Countless soldiers and horses around him were searching and wandering around, occupying favorable terrain for defense. On the river behind him, countless ships were turning around to transport the soldiers and horses waiting on the Lingzhou pier.
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Yang Yiqing walked towards the occupied rebel camp ahead with his hands behind his hands, surrounded by the constant sounds of reports from soldiers who came to report.
"Reporting to Mr. Yang, ten artillery pieces on the hills on both sides have been blown up. There is no one in the arrow towers and fortifications."
"Reporting to Mr. Yang, there are no traces of the enemy troops in the rebel camp. There are just hundreds of corpses inside and outside the camp."
"Reporting to Mr. Yang, there are no traces of rebels within ten miles to the left. There are dead soldiers and horses and a large number of ruts in the northeast."
"Report to Mr. Yang..."
Yang Yiqing walked forward expressionlessly, without the joy of crossing the river in his heart, nor the regret of attacking the empty ferry. His eyes were looking in the direction of Ningxia City in the north. He knew that the reason for crossing the river today was like this.
It was completely brought by the man who led three thousand cavalry to raid Ningxia City.
That man grasped the crux of the problem, dared to take risks, dared to act, and killed with one strike. Under his actions, he and the 50,000 counter-rebellion army were as dispensable as decorations.
This crossing of the river was boring and ridiculous.