With the Lanjiang Ferry as the center, the New Army of the Tang Dynasty dispatched manpower to monitor the many river sections upstream and downstream that were suitable for crossing the river, regardless of size. For the convenience of combat command, they also arranged these river sections suitable for crossing the river on the map.
Numbered.
The scouts of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty discovered that the No. 2 ferry where the Ming army crossed the river on a large scale was more suitable for large-scale troops to cross the river than several other small ferries. Therefore, it has always been valued by the New Army of the Tang Dynasty. Fang Xitong’s No. 2 ferry had been
A mixed camp is stationed not far from here.
The Ming army had sent men to sneak across the river from this small ferry many times before to carry out night raids, but the scale had never been large, only about a hundred people at most. However, they never expected that the Ming army would cross the river on a large scale at this place, and
Or crossing the river at night.
When Fang Xitong learned the news, it was already half an hour later!
"What should I do?" At this time, a big question mark appeared in Fang Xitong's mind.
The order he received was to quickly reinforce the main force at Lanjiang Ferry, and he needed to arrive before early morning to join the main force to resist the main force of the Ming army crossing the river early tomorrow morning.
However, at this time, Ferry No. 2 discovered at least a thousand Ming troops crossing the river, which forced Fang Xitong to hesitate.
Should he continue to carry out Li Xuan's order, or should he turn around and intercept the Ming army crossing the river from Ferry No. 2?
If we turn around and go back, let alone whether our 250 men can stop the Ming army of more than 1,000 men, and more importantly, this is disobedience.
What he was resisting was not an ordinary order, but an order given to him by Li Xuan. In other words, he was disobeying the order incorrectly. No matter which dynasty it was charged with, it would be a capital crime without mercy.
But if we continue to go back and let at least a thousand and possibly more Ming troops pass through the No. 2 Ferry, wouldn't they be able to outflank the rear of our main force, and then we will be in big trouble.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, Fang Xitong immediately ordered his messenger to fly quickly to report the news of the Ming army's crossing of the river to His Majesty at the Lanjiang Ferry as soon as possible. At the same time, he asked His Majesty to indicate whether he should continue
Reinforce Lanjiang Ferry, or turn around and go back to Ferry No. 2.
As for himself, he took the First Mixed Battalion to rest where it was and had a meal in advance. Once he waited for the order from Li Xuan, he could remain in the best condition whether he continued to reinforce or turned around and returned to the No. 2 Ferry.
From a military tactical perspective, his choice was undoubtedly a bad move.
At this time, whether he continues to move forward or turns back, it is better than staying where he is now.
Every minute and second tonight is precious, and his decision will make the First Mixed Battalion idle for at least an hour.
And missing this moment may cause the First Mixed Battalion to be unable to participate in the decisive battle, and the First Mixed Battalion's absence may even lead to the ruin of the entire battle situation.
Although the total strength of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty is said to be nearly 4,000, more than 400 of them are just baggage troops, and more than 400 of them are garrison camps that use cold weapons to fight and were captured by the Ming army.
There are only about 3,000 people who are really regarded as the main force.
Among these three thousand people, the 1st Infantry Battalion and the 1st Mixed Battalion have the most powerful combat capabilities and the richest combat experience.
If the First Mixed Battalion did not participate in the battle, it would still have a certain impact on the combat effectiveness of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention, when the two sides are in a stalemate on the battlefield, the addition of a new force can definitely have a huge impact.
It was not that Fang Xitong didn't know this, but he still chose to report it to Li Xuan first and wait for Li Xuan's order before taking the next step.
Compared with Fang Xitong's conservative decision, the decision of Li Chunjing, the battalion officer of the Second Mixed Battalion, was much more decisive and resolute.
Like the First Mixed Battalion, the Second Mixed Battalion also set off for the Lanjiang Ferry after receiving Li Xuan's order. However, just half an hour after leaving, someone reported that a large number of Ming troops had crossed the river at Ferry No. 3. Preliminary estimates
The Ming army had at least a thousand troops.
After hearing the news, Li Chunjing did not hesitate at all and directly issued the order: "Order the entire army to return to Ferry No. 3 immediately and stop the Ming army!"
At this time, someone else looked puzzled and said: "But our mission is to reinforce the Lanjiang Ferry. If we turn around and go back, I'm afraid..."
This person didn't say it clearly, because the next sentence was about disobeying the order.
Li Chunjing said: "There are more than 3,000 main troops at the Lanjiang Ferry, and there are strong fortress defenses. Even if the Ming army comes across the river to attack, it is not a problem to defend the beach. On our side, if these Ming troops are allowed to
Crossing the river to sneak attack on the rear of the main force would be troublesome!"
"Besides, the matter is urgent and there will be some consequences outside. After this battle, if I am still alive, I will apologize to Your Majesty!"
Although Li Chunjing was young, he was extremely decisive. After overcoming the objections of his subordinates, he immediately led his troops back to Ferry No. 3.
At this moment, Li Xuan, Wang Shanxu, Hao Bainian and other senior generals who were still at the Lanjiang Ferry could not sleep. They were repeatedly deducing how to fight tomorrow's defensive operations.
And they didn't know that Ming troops had already crossed the river overnight at No. 2 and No. 3 ferries.
The tools they used to cross the river were even transported from afar. It was obvious that they had made relevant plans very early, and they hid the news from the scouts of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty and ambush at least a thousand Ming troops in each of these two places.
The Lanjiang Ferry in the middle of the night was obviously a lot quieter. After the artillery team discovered that the effect of the night bombardment was not good, they had simply stopped the bombardment and were preparing to recharge their batteries and wait for the sun to rise tomorrow.
A large-scale shelling must kill a large number of Ming troops on the other side of the river on the river beach.
After the arrangements were made, Li Xuan also went to bed in the latter half of the night. He wanted to have enough energy to face the war that was about to break out tomorrow.
However, not long after he fell asleep, he was awakened by a noise outside.
Not long after, his personal bodyguard walked in and whispered to Li Xuan: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent military situation!"
After hearing the words "urgent military situation", Li Xuan naturally had no intention of continuing to sleep. He immediately stood up, put on his coat and walked out.
As soon as I came out, I saw a few messengers who were still breathing. One of them said: "Your Majesty, at least a thousand puppet Ming rebels were found crossing the river at No. 2 Ferry. Fang Yingguan asked for instructions to continue reinforcements.
It’s better to turn around and return to Ferry 2!”
When Li Xuan heard this, he inevitably frowned. What is going on with the Ming army?
They are obviously spending a lot of time on the Lanjiang Ferry, and they are about to launch a cross-river attack early tomorrow morning. At this time, these Ming troops are dividing their troops to other crossings? Is this a sneak attack from behind?
Don’t these Ming troops know that it is taboo to divide their troops before a battle?
Tens of thousands of them crossed the river together. It was hard to say whether they could break through their own beach defenses. If a partial division of thousands of people were separated to cross the river at the No. 2 ferry, would the remaining troops at the Lanjiang Ferry still be able to cross the river?
While Li Xuan was deep in thought, another messenger also spoke up: "Your Majesty, at Ferry No. 3, at least a thousand puppet Ming rebels were also found crossing the river. Officer Li Ying had already turned back due to the emergency.
Cross the river on the 3rd to stop the enemy!"
If Li Xuan only frowned when he heard that Ming troops were found at Ferry No. 2 before, then now that he heard that at least a thousand Ming troops were crossing the river at Ferry No. 3, Li Xuan's expression changed instantly.
He immediately said: "Call the generals for an emergency meeting immediately!"
His intuition told him that there were large-scale Ming troops crossing the river in these two places at the same time. There must be something complicated behind this.
Tonight is unusual, one might capsize in the gutter!
Fang Dong and other generals all lived in the military camp, and some of them were not even asleep. As soon as they heard that His Majesty had urgently summoned them, they all felt it within a few minutes. Many people were still walking quickly on the way here.
, buttoning clothes at the same time.
When everyone came together, Li Xuan briefly explained the situation, and then said: "What do you think, my dear friends? What are the tricks of this pseudo-Ming thief army?"
Zeng Ziwen was the first to speak: "The enemy's move is definitely not as simple as sending a few troops to contain our army. Otherwise, they would not have sent so many troops to two ferries at the same time. These two ferries are intensified.
Get up, I'm afraid there are three thousand, and the enemy's main force before was only about ten thousand in total!"
At this time, Butcher Chen also started: "Where did those Ming troops come from? Aren't those Ming troops all opposite us? We haven't seen any large-scale mobilization of them in the past few days!"
At this time, Hao Bainian said: "Have you forgotten the small-scale sneak attack by the Ming army a few days ago? They sent some people out of the camp every time, but except for those people who were defeated by us, did the rest of them go back?
I guess these people ran out a few days ago."
At this moment, Butcher Chen showed a look of realization and said, "No wonder they want to attack in a sneak attack. It turns out they have another purpose!"
"However, it is also possible that these Ming troops were transferred from other places. No one can guarantee that the total strength of the Ming troops opposite is only ten thousand people!" At this time, Zeng Ziwen raised another possibility!
But at this time, Li Xuan said: "No matter where these Ming troops came from, our problem now is how to deal with them!"
When Li Xuan spoke, his tone was a bit serious. The situation was urgent now, but there was not so much time for these generals to chat. He needed a solution.
As soon as these words came out, everyone stopped arguing, and then everyone began to think deeply, but no one spoke for a long time.
Li Xuan looked at these silent people and immediately snorted loudly: "The enemy is facing us, do you have to surrender without mercy?"
At this time, Hao Bainian stood up and said immediately: "Your Majesty, our top priority now is to stop these two Ming army divisions and not let them flank our rear. As for the Lanjiang Ferry, there is such a strong defense
The fortress also has sharp weapons such as grenades and artillery for combat. It is not easy for the Ming army to cross the river. I think reinforcements should be sent immediately to reinforce the No. 2 and No. 3 ferry!"
When Li Xuan heard this, he also began to think deeply and divide his troops for reinforcements. If tens of thousands of Ming troops really cross the river to launch an attack early tomorrow morning, can he still be able to stop it after spreading out his troops?