Changsun Quanxu led his army to encounter the Flying Tiger Cavalry in the first battle in the north. After the two sides fought briefly on the Hebei Plain, Changsun Quanxu was defeated and retreated. The Flying Tiger Cavalry did not pursue the Tang army. They cleared the way for the artillery battalion in front, slowly and orderly.
I came to Jizhou with confidence.
Naturally, Quanxu was unwilling to be defeated and led four thousand light cavalry in a large circle in an attempt to attack the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion from behind. At the rear of the team, the Tang Army's cavalry encountered Li Siye's heavy infantry Tiaodang and Mo Dao Team, and failed to hit a decisive blow.
Back up.
The third time Changsun Quanxu chose to attack from the middle. More than 4,000 cavalrymen cut the artillery battalion's transport team into two sections, killing the soldiers and livestock. The civilians transporting the artillery fled in all directions. Fortunately, the flying tiger cavalry came from the front.
Only by decisively turning back did the losses continue to expand.
However, the team's march was delayed, and Duan Xiushi had to write to Li Siye, asking him to continue recruiting a group of people and livestock.
Not only did Li Siye send livestock and people, Zhongshu ordered Xu Bin to personally escort the team. Xu Bin divided the escorting flying tiger cavalry into two groups, one responsible for escorting and one specifically responsible for chasing, so that no matter whether the enemy cavalry had any
As long as they follow any movement, they can know the enemy's movements in advance.
Changsun Quanxu's subsequent attacks failed to achieve results, and instead he was chased by Feihu riding on his back.
After a series of chases, attacks and counter-attacks by both sides, although the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion suffered certain losses, its overall strength was not weakened. They all arrived at the foot of Jizhou City.
Facing more than 100,000 Tang troops, the total strength of the Hexi Army was only 60,000, including 30,000 flying tiger cavalry and 30,000 artillery battalions and escort teams. However, these 60,000 were the attacking party.
Guo Ziyi faced a dilemma. If he chose to continue to stick to the civil camp, the artillery and Kongming lanterns of the Hexi Army would surely ignite the entire camp into a sea of flames. But if he chose to go out to confront the Hexi Army, one hundred thousand infantry and cavalry would face each other on the plain.
In a charge, if you do not maintain a complex and tight formation, you will be dispersed by the opponent in just a few rounds. However, if the formation is tight, your mobility will be greatly reduced, and no matter how strong the formation is, it will not be able to withstand the impact of artillery shells.
He finally chose to hide behind the barrier. The shelling by the Hexi Army on the first day caused a fire in the camp. Guo Ziyi was exhausted and led his people to put out the fire.
Guo Ziyi invited the generals to the big tent and said with a tired look on his face: "There is the artillery shell casting workshop of the Hexi Army in Jizhou City, and not far away is the artillery camp of the Tang Army. As long as we win one game, as long as this one
We can capture these artillery pieces and shells, and capture Li Siye's craftsmen, and we can also form a Xuanwu artillery battalion in the future. At least we won't suffer consecutive defeats due to inferior armament."
"Tonight, depending on whether God will give us this opportunity, I plan to organize a death squad to attack the rebels at night. Each soldier who participates in the battle will be rewarded with a hundred gold. The money will be paid from my family property, Guo Ziyi. If anyone is unfortunately killed, double the amount will be given.
Compensation will be given to parents, wives and children, and those who are seriously injured will receive rewards and return home. Tell the soldiers below and ask them who is willing to follow me, Guo Ziyi, to die and kill the enemy!"
After Guo Linggong passed the order, the army officers rushed to sign up and quickly recruited a team of ten thousand people. These warriors were only equipped with a horizontal sword and a torch. In order to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, they all smeared animal blood on their faces and waited.
When the sky darkened, he attacked the enemy.
Pugu Huai'en volunteered to lead a desperate team to attack the rebels, but Guo Ziyi had other plans. He said to Pugu Huai'en: "The morale of the soldiers has dropped to a low point. If I can't take the lead, I will definitely not succeed tonight."
But we still have to prepare for the worst. You can gather the remaining people tonight. If my surprise attack fails, we will lead our troops to retreat to Yecheng to avoid suffering greater losses."
Huai'en knew that Guo Ziyi was determined, and no matter how difficult it was to persuade him, he had no choice but to cross his arms and stay in the camp to prepare for retreat.
In order to give full play to the lethality of the Xuanwu artillery, Li Chongbao set up the camp to the west of the Tang Army's earthen barracks. The terrain was higher than the Tang Army's earthen fortress. A circle of wooden stakes was built around the artillery array, with military tents set up in the middle. Most of the soldiers slept
There was a quiver of arrows resting on the ground, and the horses acted as a wall to block the wind.
As the night got darker, Li Chongbao walked out of the tent wearing armor, stood on a high place and looked at the Tang Army camp in the distance, and murmured to himself: "The Tang Army looks very quiet tonight."
He turned around and returned to the tent. The guard who was serving him was about to take off his armor. Li Chongbao stretched out his hand to stop him and said: "No, tomorrow's war is coming. The soldiers are sleeping in the open. How can I seek temporary comfort and forget important things tonight?"
I put on my armor and lay down.
Of course, it would not be comfortable to lie on the sheep felt wearing heavy armor. Li Chongbao was covered in Mingguang armor, and it took a lot of effort to stand up. He stared at the tent roof, and sleepiness soon swept over him.
Guo Ziyi led his soldiers to approach the Hexi Army camp in the dark. The camp in front was brightly lit, and naturally there were people taking turns keeping watch. They had no opportunistic methods, and the sound of footsteps as they approached would alert the enemy.
Guo Ziyi waved his hand and ordered everyone to light torches and rush towards the Tang army's camp. The shouts of killing suddenly echoed everywhere.
"Someone is attacking the camp!"
The soldiers who were lying on the ground stood up with support, reached out to touch the knives beside them, and then rushed out of the artillery array to resist.
Li Chongbao suddenly woke up, got up from the ground, took off the horizontal sword hanging on the wooden pillar, rushed out of the tent, and shouted: "Flying Tiger Cavalry! Don't go riding! Use your horizontal sword to kill them, Flying Tiger Cavalry
Regardless of whether he is riding a horse or not, he is the strongest in the world!"
Guo Ziyi personally carried the sword and entered the Hexi Army camp, waving the blade with both hands and rushing left and right, engaging in a fierce battle with the Feihuqi who had just reacted.
Since Feihuqi was unprepared, most of the soldiers were fighting independently and soon fell into a disadvantage.
Li Chongbao's generals hurriedly ran to him and said: "General Li, the enemy's attack is fierce now. Our army cannot organize our soldiers at night. It is better to retreat first and wait until we gather our troops tomorrow morning before making plans."
"Wait until tomorrow?" Li Chongbao immediately said angrily: "This Xuanwu Artillery Battalion is all my father's hard work and cost him countless possessions. How can I let them fall into the hands of Guo Ziyi? Even if the entire Flying Tiger Cavalry is exhausted tonight,
Don't take even a step back, gather your people and let them come in!"
Li Chongbao led his troops to form a small battle formation and held on to the center of the camp. The other defeated Hexi soldiers gathered around him and worked together to hold on to the camp, suffering every minute and second of that night.
bell.
The morning light bloomed brilliantly golden from the sky. After a night of fierce fighting, the Hexi Army's camp was in a mess. The Xuanwu artillery was tilted across the gun emplacement. Although the Flying Tiger Cavalry suffered heavy losses, Li Chongbao led them to still stand firm in the center of the camp.
The remaining members of the Flying Tiger Cavalry who had been dispersed and retreated last night were quickly organized and marched towards the center of the military camp.
As soon as the sky dawned, Guo Ziyi led the death squad to retreat. They killed thousands of horses and countless gunners that night, causing immeasurable losses to the Hexi Army's Flying Tiger Cavalry and Xuanwu Artillery, but failed to completely occupy the enemy camp.
, it would be impossible to talk about seizure.
Guo Ziyi staggered down the long slope and said to his son Guo Ai, who was supporting him beside him: "You ride a fast horse to inform Pugu Huai'en that we will evacuate from Jizhou City within today."
"Why?" Guo Yan asked in confusion: "We obviously won the battle!"
Guo Ziyi did not reprimand his son, but patiently explained to him: "The Hexi Army took advantage of the Xuanwu artillery and the Jizhou city wall was strong. Even if it was temporarily defeated, there was still room for retreat. However, we were against the trend. First, we did not capture the enemy camp, and second, we did not capture the artillery.
Even if we win, there is no chance, and if we continue to waste it, we will lose sooner or later. It is better to retreat to Yecheng first and then make plans."