Eight hundred and twentieth chapters night breaking Longmen Ferry
The weather was cloudy the next day, and the dark clouds covered the stars at night, and there was no moon in the sky. This night was very favorable for the Hexi army to cross the river.
Duan Xiushi recruited 30,000 civilians to move the raft to the bank of the Yellow River. When the night fell completely silent, the civilian laborers and soldiers squatted in batches on the muddy beach of the Yellow River, looking down at the dark, slowly flowing river water. The front row of the raft
It is suspended on the water, and the wooden piles on the shore are pulled by ropes from behind.
Bai Xiaode was holding his horse and standing on the bow of the raft. Unlike others, his eyes were looking at the other side. On the dark land, dotted with stars, was the Tang army's camp. He believed that as long as he crossed the other side calmly, he could defeat them.
Tang Jun won the first victory.
He blew a bird-like whistle from his mouth, and the first row of rafts received military orders. The fire chiefs drew out their horizontal knives and cut off the ropes. The civilians used long bamboo poles to prop up the bottom of the river to make the rafts swing to the opposite side.
The Tang Army's camp was only 13 feet away from the river bank. If they crossed the river in the daytime, they would have to bear the rain of arrows from the Tang Army to reach the shore. The level of casualties would be unbearable.
But it was late at night now, and the first batch of soldiers of the Tang Army had successfully reached the other shore, squatting on the ground and lurking, waiting for the arrival of the next batch of boats and rafts.
The second batch of rafts arrived at the shore against the silent waves. The soldiers jumped off the rafts lightly, squatted on the ground and continued to lurk.
Perhaps it was the sound of gold and stone that was triggered by the collision of someone's armor during the battle, which woke up the Tang army's sentry on the watchtower in the camp. The other party waved a torch and sounded the gong. The entire camp was awakened from the silence in an instant. The torches in the camp were
It lit up.
The sharpshooters in the Hexi Army held long bows fully drawn and raised their hands to shoot down the Tang army's bright whistle that sounded the gong. However, it was a step too late. More Tang troops had been awakened, and the sound of the gong became chaotic.
Guo Yingyi, the general of the Tang Army, led his soldiers to the wall of the stronghold. In the darkness, arrows from the Hexi Army came like rain with burning points, but they could not see the enemy who was shooting the arrows.
He immediately shouted and ordered the Tang army to use bows and crossbows to fight back. Arrows from both sides flew back and forth, and the sound of arrows piercing the air was heard endlessly.
Both sides could not see far away at all at night. The direction in which the Tang army's bows and crossbows were pointing were all torches. The dots of fire in the distance were more Hexi troops crossing the river in the middle of the night and crowding onto the river beach.
Bai Xiaode personally rode towards the camp astride the horse. The Hexi Army who was rushing ahead lifted the horse away with arrows and threw the torch in his hand into the enemy camp. He held the horse's reins and held the fire while leading dozens of cavalrymen.
He rushed into the camp gate, held the lance in his hand and charged from left to right. More soldiers followed him and charged into the camp.
After they invaded the camp, they discovered that the Tang army was just a bluff. The camp's defenses both inside and outside were very weak. Guo Yingyi shouted to encourage the Tang army to resist, but there were only soldiers on the periphery of the huge military camp. After the camp was breached in the blink of an eye, these soldiers
Fleeing towards the hinterland of Guanzhong.
More Hexi troops arrived on the other side on rafts, just like the tide of the river hitting the Tang Army camp on the other side. After the first camp was captured, Bai Xiaode led the front army to attack the second and third camps.
Therefore, it was difficult to resist, so they retreated and retreated from Longmen Ferry.
Guo Yingyi led the remaining troops to retreat to Xiayang County, intending to use the Tucheng of Xiayang County to fight against Li Siye's tens of thousands of cavalry.
After a night of fierce fighting, he was in such a miserable state that even his armor was deformed and broken, and he was hit by five or six arrows. The five or six hundred remaining soldiers behind him had bitter looks on their faces and lingering fears, as if they had just escaped from hell.
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Guo Yingyi did not care about comforting the soldiers, so he called the military commander beside him and personally told him to take five men and ten horses to the Pujindu camp to report the news to Guo Ziyi, which was related to the emperor's safety and the fate of the world.
…
The county seat of Xiayang County is located on the northwest edge of the Guanzhong Plain, only sixty miles away from the Longmen Ferry of the Yellow River. The Loess Plateau forms an angle with the Yellow River from the west, and Xiayang County is right on this angle.
After he led more than 500 people into Xiayang County, he saw dilapidated earthen battlements everywhere. Such walls could not stop the Flying Tiger Cavalry forward led by Bai Xiaode.
Guo Yingyi called the county magistrate to him, raised his chest and said frankly: "The traitor Li Siye led his army to conquer the Longmen Ferry of the Yellow River. Now Guanzhong is in danger, and Guo Linggong's army is still at the Pujin Ferry. The rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty depends on you.
In my hands, I hope that the Ming government can recruit county soldiers to join me in defending the county. As long as we can hold on until Guo Linggong leads his troops to help, we will be able to defeat the enemy in Guanzhong and leave our name to future generations."
The county magistrate Haoqi Qianyun crossed his hands and reported back: "We are lucky to be able to live and die with General Guo. There are still 7,000 elders and 500 county soldiers in the city, but it depends on the general's orders."
Guo Yingyi was overjoyed and returned the favor repeatedly to the county magistrate: "Please also ask Mingtang to gather the people to build the city wall and lead the county soldiers to join me on the top of the city to resist the enemy."
Many people in the county town fled. The county magistrate ordered the four city gates to be sealed and called the remaining people together. In order to tie the people willingly to the chariots, they said to the people: "The rebels are cruel by nature.
Every time a city is conquered, all the men, women, old and young, chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep in the city will be slaughtered. If you want to survive, then bravely pick up the sword and defend the city with General Guo."
It's a pity that Bai Xiaode didn't give him much preparation time. Less than two hours after Guo Yingyi entered Xiayang County, the Flying Tiger Cavalry forwards had already attacked the front of the county. Under the city wall were towering iron armors, the sound of drums resounded throughout the earth, and thousands of banners were flying in the wind.
There was a loud roar, and the soldiers marched with a clanging sound of armor.
The magistrate of Xia Yang County had never seen such a battle before, and his face turned pale with fright, as if he was facing a tiger and wolf in armor. The disparity between the enemy and us was simply impossible to resist. Once the city was broken, let alone the ordinary people, he, who advocated resistance,
The county magistrate must be killed by his entire family.
The people were frightened and fell off the city wall one after another. The other people and county soldiers also lost their fighting spirit and were in panic.
Of course Bai Xiaode didn't want to waste time in a small Xiayang County. He personally rode his horse forward and pointed a silver gun at the top of the city and shouted: "Now that the eunuchs in the imperial court are in power, they bully the monarch at the top and the people at the bottom. My Lord is upright and raises an army."
King Qin, I vow to clear the emperor's side, revitalize the imperial court, and save the Tang Dynasty from the hands of the eunuchs. The people in the city must not be deceived by the eunuchs' lackeys and become the swords and guns in their hands!"
"My lord has always been kind and generous, and will never kill innocent people indiscriminately. If he is willing to open the city and surrender, our army will not only ignore it, but also be willing to give generous gifts of money and silk. However, if he persists in stubbornly resisting, he will be severely punished after the city is defeated.
!”
The people looked at each other in surprise. Guo Yingyi quickly took off his long bow from behind, cocked the arrow and drew it fully, and shot at Bai Xiaode.
Bai Xiaode hurriedly raised his arms to cover his face, rode his horse back to a stone's throw away, and continued to open his throat and shouted: "I will give you half an hour to think about it. After half an hour, if you still listen to the eunuch's lackeys,
"If you don't want to surrender the city, don't blame us for being blind."
His lieutenant general behind him said with concern: "Now that the lord has crossed the Yellow River, he wants us to use the vanguard to go north to the Weishui River as soon as possible and attack Chang'an. Why waste time and talk with these poor people? The general can give me 6,000 people. I guarantee it."
Take the county seat within three hours."
Bai Xiaode smiled calmly and said: "The general is indeed brave, but such bravery should not be wasted in a small county, and the lives of the soldiers should not be lost here. Guo Yingyi's remaining troops only number five to six hundred people. If they do not have the help of the people in the city,
, they will definitely not be able to hold on for a moment. How can the people of Xiayang County distinguish right from wrong? They were just deceived by Guo. As long as they are given some time and the pressure of life and death, I believe they will make the right decision. Besides,
This Guo Yingyi is a suspicious and fickle person, and he himself will not believe that the county magistrate and the people will be of the same mind as him. You and I will wait for the changes in the city."