The rain did slow down, but it was enough to cover the figure, wet the flags, and render the bows and crossbows ineffective. It was basically difficult to spread the formation, so the battle was still carried out in an unusual form.
And just on the official road on the south side of Wushan Mountain, a man with a majestic figure, a big horse, two swords, and full armor was looking at the gray Song Army camp and battlefield in front of Beixin Bridge, but he just stood on his horse in the rain, solemnly.
Silent.
This person is none other than Li Cheng.
By the way, when the Song Dynasty discussed the pseudo-Qi Dynasty before, they believed that following Liu Yu, Liu Lin, Li Cheng, and Kong Yanzhou needed the most attention. This is of course correct. But in fact, in terms of gaining military morale and prestige alone,
, Kong and Liu are really inferior to Li Cheng in more than one way, or in other words, from this perspective, Li Cheng and the other two are not on the same level at all.
Although they were crossing the river and rushing in the rain, it didn't mean that Li Cheng's soldiers and horses didn't have a place to stay overnight... Beixinqiao is an important transportation road in Jishui. There is a small settlement formed due to commercial traffic about three or four miles next to Beixinqiao.
After the Jin army came and went, and now there is the Pingyin War, the people here have long been scattered... No matter what, this is a natural shelter from the rain.
However, Li Cheng arrived in the middle of the night. Although he occupied the settlement, drove away the former troops, and allowed the elite of his Chinese army to occupy and rest, he himself left the town himself and slept in the rain with the former soldiers until dawn.
, once there was a battle at the front, even though he knew that ordinary soldiers could not see his shape in the rain, he still stood up straight and stood in the rain.
He certainly has the air of a general.
Of course, some people could still see this gesture. The puppet Qi Prime Minister Hong Ya, who was ordered to come to supervise the army, finished resting in the small settlement, rode a horse and held an umbrella to look for Li Cheng. When he saw this scene from behind him, he was
First, he put away his umbrella and hung it on his horse. After being caught in the rain for a while, he stepped forward and stood side by side with Li Cheng.
Besides, Li Cheng's martial arts skills with double swords are unparalleled in the world, and how good his eyesight is? He had already caught a glimpse of the 'prime minister' just now, but he was just pretending not to know...
After all, this Hong Ya is more than just the Prime Minister of Da Qi. There are rumors that this person was originally a confidant of Ta Lan, the right deputy marshal of the Jin Kingdom, and had a life-saving relationship with Ta Lan. He even defeated Ta Lan that day.
It was this person who cleaned up the mess and maintained it with all his strength.
When Ta Laan retreated to Hebei, he was ordered to go to Daming Mansion to negotiate with the Prime Minister of the Jin Kingdom and the Du Marshal Nianhan about the establishment of Daqi. He actually fell into the eyes of the Du Marshal Nianhan again. So this time the Daqi was established, this Hongya
He is basically the Prime Minister of Da Qi who took over from Daming Mansion... In other words, he is not only a Prime Minister of Da Qi, nor is he the supervisor of Li Cheng's Qingzhou soldiers this time, he is more like the supervisor sent to Da Qi by the Kingdom of Jin!
Even Da Qi Emperor Liu Yu had to show seven points of courtesy to this person, so it stands to reason that Li Cheng should also show three points of courtesy.
However, Li Cheng, the lord of Qingzhou, Mizhou and Weizhou, the so-called Grand Governor of Qi State, was not an ordinary warrior. He knew from the beginning that a warlord like himself, a baseless warlord, had to gain political ground.
Only by relying on him can he truly survive for a long time, and then find good opportunities to gradually grow bigger... Therefore, he was basically courteous to this Prime Minister Hong.
"Thank you for your hard work, Commander-in-Chief." Hong Ya came to Li Cheng's side on horseback and faced him calmly. "How is the battle ahead?"
"Hong Xianggong has also worked hard!" Li Cheng was equally calm. "The war ahead is not going well."
Hong Ya was slightly startled, but he looked at the chaotic camp in front of him and hesitated: "How can you see it? Can the Grand Governor see the battle situation clearly? Or is there some secret that I don't understand?"
"It's not some mysterious truth." Li Cheng continued to say solemnly. "It's just that I run the army very strictly. I issued military orders early in the morning to Du Yan. As long as he breaks into the opponent's camp a hundred steps and seizes the fence and gate, he will blow the horn as fast as possible. Then I will
The Chinese army, which had rested all night, would take advantage of the situation and surge forward with all their strength, and Du Yan did not dare not listen... But so far, the sound of the trumpet has not been heard."
"So that's it, it seems like there's still a tug of war." Hong Ya sighed, twirling his beard slightly. "After the battle at Changshe, the morale of the Song army soared. Even facing the Jin people, they were no longer afraid of it. What's more, there was a sudden attack in the rain yesterday.
When we meet again, our strategy of pretending to be the Jin Army failed to work..."
"The best-case scenario is of course a fight between the front and back of the fence," Li Cheng ignored the nonsense behind the other party, but directly made further analysis. "The worst-case scenario is that this elite Song army is abnormal and directly kills Du Yan.
The Mizhou soldiers blocked the edge of the camp and killed and wounded in an orderly manner... In that case, the Mizhou soldiers might soon be unable to bear the casualties, and Du Yan would have to come to apologize before the army was defeated!"
"I see."
Hong Ya couldn't help but glance at Li Cheng, but he didn't lose his composure because of the other person's words... After all, who hasn't experienced such a thing as defeat? The key is that Li Cheng said such words so calmly, which made people feel uncomfortable.
While people were suspicious of his thoughts, they became more and more respectful.
No matter what, there is always the spirit of a general!
However, just when Hong Ya was thoughtful, something slapped him in the face - in the light rain, countless Qi troops, Du Yan's Mizhou soldiers, suddenly rolled back like a tide.
Come on, the movement is so loud that even in the rain, you can still get a glimpse of its momentum.
Li Cheng was obviously startled, then his face became gloomy, but he waved slightly to his side.
Following the signal from the Commander-in-Chief of Qi State, hundreds of cavalrymen who had been waiting on both sides of the official road suddenly flashed out of the rain. Of course, Xianggong Hong had already seen Governor Li's personal cavalry.
But only then did he notice that these cavalrymen were not only fully armored, but also each held a long single-edged sword in their hands. The blade was more than two feet long... At this time, the blades were revealed. Although it was a rainy day,
But it’s also so bright, it’s amazing!
Immediately afterwards, regardless of the muddy and slippery rainy day, this group of cavalry lined up directly in a horizontal line and rode forward. Among them, the officer held back and shouted loudly, asking the broken troops in front to immediately return to the formation, but most of the long-sword cavalry were facing the enemy.
He moved forward calmly without haste or delay, and then as soon as he came into contact with the route of the routed troops, he started to kill them mercilessly.
For a time, broken limbs and broken bodies were scattered on the official road at the foot of the southern mountain range of Wu Mountain. The noise caused by it was still greater than the noise during the previous battle, especially the wailing sound was even more terrifying.
But no matter what, the defeated troops were quickly reorganized, and the soldiers chasing from the Song army camp in front of the bridge immediately gave up the pursuit and turned around to defend.
The situation stabilized slightly, and Li Cheng remained calm. However, he glanced at Hong Ya beside him first. When he saw that the other person's expression did not change, he stroked his beard and sighed, but he took advantage of the situation and gained a bit of respect.
"Hong Xianggong, wait a moment." After a moment, several long-sword cavalrymen, carrying bright swords, drove a well-armored officer over. When Li Cheng saw this, he said farewell to Hong Ya first, and then turned back to face him.
The officer said solemnly before setting off his horse. "Wu Shun, where are Du Yan? Why were you defeated to such an extent?"
"Brother Du is dead!" Wu Shun was lying in the mud in front of the horse. He was soaked in the rain and his feet were wet with mud. He was panting again. He was in a state of embarrassment, but because there were several long knives at his side, Li Cheng was in front.
, had to explain in a hurry. "The good governor knows that it's not that we don't try our best, but that this Song army is not an ordinary one, but a close confidant of Zhao Guan's family! So even though there were only two thousand, they defeated us in two days
Five to six thousand Mizhou soldiers were standing guard..."
Li Cheng and Hong Ya, who had been keeping their posture, finally changed their colors. They originally crossed the river for a sneak attack, came in the rain, and then suddenly engaged in a battle. Even if they had sporadic intelligence all day and night, how could they determine the origin of this elite force in front of them?
?
In fact, when he was in Yanggu that day, Zhang Maode only thought that he was the "King Master" from Tokyo, but he didn't know that he was the Imperial Banzhi.
After all, unless they have had direct or indirect contact with that official, who can believe that Zhao Song's official is willing to throw out his own squad leader as a consumable?
Back in front of them, Li and Hong both changed their expressions. Hong Ya quickly regained his composure, but Li Cheng couldn't help but scolded him sternly: "How did you know it was Yuqian Banzhi?"
"The good governor knows that it was the officer and the soldier who presented himself!" Wu Shun quickly kowtowed and answered again. "The battle lasted for half a morning today. I thought it would last forever, but unexpectedly when both sides were exhausted, a general from the opposite side lured him
The personal guard warriors had been hiding behind the officers and soldiers on the front line for a long time. No matter how fierce the front line was, they just didn't move. When my brother ordered the rotation, they suddenly rushed out and went straight to my brother... And my brother
I was caught off guard, but he was killed by the opponent! At this time, the warrior beside him shouted out, saying that the person who killed my brother was none other than Yang Yizhong, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial City Division!"
Li Chengneng opened his mouth and sneered: "How could I know that I am not taking advantage of the situation to bluff you group of defeated troops? If you hadn't heard that it was the Imperial Banzhi, how could you have been defeated to this extent?"
"I'm not bluffing, it's probably true." At this moment, Hong Ya suddenly spoke, but he made an assertion.
Li Cheng turned around and was slightly startled: "Ms. Hong...?"
"When Yang Yizhong came here, he must have received the direct order of the Zhao Song official." Hong Ya replied with a stern look. "And Hong was not talented. He was personally defeated by the Zhao Song official in Changshe. On that day, under the Changshe city,
I saw Long Huang, an official of the Zhao Song Dynasty, in the distance. He was as disbelieving as Governor Li, but he personally led a hundred cavalry through the formation to observe the reality. When he got to Long Huang, more than half of the hundreds of cavalry were killed or injured, but he could still see clearly... From then on
From now on, I will know that the temperament of the official in Tokyo City is simply not like the descendants of the Zhao family! And today, Yang Yizhong's Imperial Guard is here, but he is facing the door! "
Li Cheng was still hesitant.
Hong Ya, on the other hand, was calm and unhurried, but twirled his beard and sneered: "Even if the Grand Governor can't trust Hong, he should be able to trust those fifteen men who drowned in front of Changshe City!"
Li Cheng finally said solemnly: "So, is the front line really straight?"
Hong Ya still sneered: "I know Emperor Zhao and Song, so I am willing to believe it!"
Hearing this, Li Cheng looked up to the sky and sighed: "So, wouldn't this war be going to be more difficult?"
Hong Ya was slightly startled, then squinted his eyes to look at the other person: "What do you mean by the Governor's words?"
Li Cheng immediately responded with emotion: "Mr. Hong, think about it, the Imperial Guards are the best soldiers and horses in the world, how elite they are? If they insist on holding on, how can we easily break through?"
"We have an army of 20,000, but the enemy's camp is only one or two thousand in size. They do not defend across the river, but defend the stronghold with their backs to the river. How can even the elite survive?" Hong Ya immediately laughed. " Yesterday, when we suddenly engaged in battle, didn't we say that we killed two to three hundred of the opponent's troops on the spot? Even if the Mizhou soldiers collapsed today, there were no casualties?"
Li Cheng finally smiled and said: "Ms. Hong, I'm not saying that we can't defeat him, but I'm saying that the Imperial Guards are so elite that even if they are wasted, the fighting chance will be lost. Besides, they should have called for help yesterday, and they haven't been able to do so by then." After spending time, reinforcements will arrive..."
Hong Ya continued to twist his beard and smile: "In that case, what if we leave the Mizhou soldiers to guard the Imperial Banzhi, we can force the crossing from Huajiakou downstream, and directly attack Pingyin from the flank?"
Li Cheng shook his head and continued to smile: "The Mizhou soldiers have suffered such a defeat, how can they look down on this imperial class leader?"
Hong Ya finally stopped laughing: "In that case, why don't you and I withdraw our troops and go back to Liaocheng, north of the Yellow River?"
These words are very vicious... If 20,000 people hurriedly crossed the Yellow River, but were forced back to the north bank of the Yellow River by 2,000 squadrons within two days, I am afraid that the Jin army on the north bank of the river could directly kill Li Cheng in Liaocheng. It might even end!
However, when Li Cheng heard this, he also became serious, but he was not in a hurry to reply. Instead, he slightly pouted at the knights with long swords in front of him... The latter understood that one of them was in the best position and had the most correct angle, but it was a direct strike. He chopped off the head of Wu Shun, the number two figure in the Mizhou Army, from the neck right in front of Li Cheng and Hong Ya!
Moreover, Wu Shun had been lying on the ground listening to the conversation between the two big shots, thinking that he had already been saved. Even when it was mentioned that the Mizhou soldiers were keeping an eye on the Imperial Banzhi, he wanted to take the initiative... Only Li Cheng immediately He objected, so he kept lying on the ground.
The result? This person didn’t even react until he died!
But they forgot that Li Cheng was serious about running the army. Not to mention his previous defeats, he just did not gather the troops after the death of the general, and he was dead.
Back in front of me, the heads rolled down in front of Li and Hong's horses, and their bodies spurted out warm blood, spraying the mud at the front hooves of the horses into a blood-red mess. However, the knights with long swords didn't even look at them, so they turned around and returned to their groups. .
Li Cheng, on the other hand, stared at Hong Ya throughout the whole process, but seeing that the other party was still not afraid, he made up his mind and finally spoke frankly to him: "Ms. Hong, let me tell you the truth... you only know the official family of Zhao Song, but you don't." I know the other person, but I only knew the other person before, but not the Zhao Song official family, so we each came here with a trace of luck. But since today is here, and at this time, it is time to talk to each other and let each of us understand the future. "
Hong Ya just twisted his beard and said nothing.
And Li Cheng also stepped aside and explained directly: "I didn't take this battle seriously at first, because others thought that Yue Pengju was a young man, and if he consolidated the 100,000 people left behind in Tokyo into 50,000 or 60,000, there would inevitably be trouble. If there is no trouble, it will be difficult to start an internal battle... So I stayed in Liaocheng for a long time! It was not until the sky became gloomy that I felt that a quick victory could be achieved, and then I made up my mind to cross the river! But who would want to encounter this? "
Hong Ya was slightly moved: "How does Yue Pengju compare to Han Shizhong?"
"I have never met Han Shizhong, so I am not convinced by him," Li Cheng said frankly. "But when I saw Yue Pengju, I was outdone by him in terms of martial arts and magnanimity! I can't say that I am convinced, but I can trust his abilities!
"
Hong Ya hesitated for a moment, but seeing no one around him, he simply asked: "What do you want the Governor to do?"
"This blockage is blocked here. If we can't remove it before noon today, or if we force the Imperial Banzhi in front to retreat, the overall situation of the Dongping War will be ruined." Li Cheng faced him sternly. "Therefore, I will personally lead the elite troops to attack fiercely before noon.
If we can win and retreat, we will continue to encircle Pingyin from here or downstream... But if we can't win or retreat, I'm sorry to say, the two of us might as well spend a while here and wait and see what happens...
Anyway, the Daming Mansion with tens of thousands of soldiers from the Jin Kingdom can’t be lost by the Jinan Mansion, right?”
Hong Ya finally reined in his horse and smiled again: "If this is the case, let me see what the Governor is capable of!"
Li Cheng received the promise, and without saying a word, he directly urged the horse under his crotch, crossed the remaining body in front of the horse, and then moved forward, while hundreds of cavalry with long swords around him also followed.
Amidst the slight rain, it has its own momentum.
Hong Ya was behind this man, first glanced at the head in front of the horse, and then stared at the other man's back with a cold glance, hiding his disgust for this kind of warrior in troubled times, and then moved his horse forward to observe the success or failure.