Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 147 Destroying the Enemy
When raging flames filled the not too wide surface of Yongji Canal, everything was a foregone conclusion, but it was difficult to see clearly in it.

Cheng Mingzhen rode his horse down the hill and headed south all the way, Qi Shanxing shouted and commanded, the Tang army began to attack the ferry and bridge, and there was a straight smoke going up to the sky.

Li Daoxuan and Liu Jun, who had not yet arrived at the battlefield, saw the flames in the distance, and began to speed up their horses, vowing to avenge Xia Bo's humiliation in the first battle.

But Liu Heizhen was furious after being stunned for a moment, Cao Zhan, a waste, can't do such a small thing well, and Tang Jun made a surprise attack!
At the edge of the battlefield, a majestic young man frowned tightly, jumped on his horse suddenly, and looked at the flames on Yongji Canal from a distance.

"Tuesday Lang, what's going on?"

"Second brother, the front shouted that the grain ship was burned?"

Dozens of people below asked in a hurry. Zhou Zhoulang looked at it for a while, got off his horse, and said with a sneer, "The grain boat...these days, that is, Chen Daozi's group eats better, and the rest...who Isn't the ration only half of the original half?"

A middle-aged man next to him nodded and said, "Chen Daozi and his gang robbed a big family's granary in Yuancheng."

"But there are grain ships going south every day, maybe it's not enough?"

The people around whispered and gradually quieted down, waiting for the young man's decision.

Zhou Zhoulang is a delicate person, he pondered over and over again in his heart, remembering that before the Turkic soldiers left, he was already hungry, and after that, Poyuan City only ate one or two meals, let alone a meal now, There is not enough fodder for the war horses.

There are dozens of grain ships every day, and the news spreads in a mess, but I haven't heard anyone conclusively say that they have eaten their mouths.

Among the chaotic army, if you want to save your life, you must act cautiously, but you must also be able to capture fleeting opportunities.

Zhou Zhoulang gritted his teeth. He was originally from Dingzhou. He has a house and a field in his family.

Last year, Liu Heikai broke into Dingzhou, and Zhou's family was destroyed. His brothers, sisters, parents, wives and children were all scattered. He is proficient in writing and ink, and has gathered hundreds of subordinates.

In all fairness, Zhou Zhoulang hated Liu Heitai deeply, but he also knew that once he was hunted down by the Tang army, he would undoubtedly die.

But today, when Yongji Canal was on fire, Zhou Zhoulang found a way to escape his life safely.

"Watch those horses..."

Zhou Zhoulang's deep voice sounded in the gathered crowd, "Further north is fodder..."

"Old Qi, I remember you got some tung oil in Yuancheng..."

"Second brother, do you want to..."

"Listen to me!"

At this moment, Liu Heikai, who was standing on the hill, was already pale. Looking down, although the tens of thousands of troops were far from collapsing, the riots spread everywhere at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.

Liu Heizhen felt great hatred. Whoever set up the poisonous plan obviously didn't see through the grain ship as a cover-up, but directly set it all on fire, and made such a big noise in front of thousands of people.

If there is enough food and grass in the army, this fire will have almost no effect, but the problem is that the rations in the army can only support a quarter or less after being replenished in Poyuan City, and the morale of the army is all hanging by the grain ship .

Although it can't be hanged for a few days... Liu Heitai was counting on a surprise attack on Liyang Cang, but this fire broke the morale of the few soldiers.

Glancing to the north, Liu Heita had no other choice. The Tang army attacking from the south of Guantao could only rely on Wang Xiaohu's more than 2000 cavalry to deal with it. What he needed most now was to resist the Tang army's attack on the other side of the river.

On the other side of the river, in the Tang army, flags were flying and swords were shining. A large number of soldiers were carrying shields, giant logs, and even wearing iron armor. The blood on the bridge was splattered and screamed again and again. .

Liu Heikai knew very well that once the Tang army crossed the river calmly, the infantry guarding the river bank would be hard to resist, and his own cavalry were all on the periphery, making it difficult to mobilize for a while.

Attacking from both sides, the grain ships were burned, the morale was depressed, and the cavalry of the Tang army had a place to use when they were in chaos, driving the infantry back to their own formation. At that time, it would be useless for the gods to descend to earth.

On the hill, Liu Heita kept giving orders and transferred a branch of troops from all directions to the crossing of the ferry and bridge.

On the other side of the river, Ma Zhou clicked his tongue and said, "Liu Heita is indeed talented. His army stormed bridges and crossings, but he was defeated without being defeated and without disrupting his formation."

After hearing this, Qi Shanxing nodded and said, "A small group of troops flanked the left and right to delay the speed of our army's advance, and the rear stabilized its position... After all, the strength of the troops is too great."

Ma Zhou sighed, the attacking Tang army's infantry were no more than a thousand, although they were elite, but there were too many enemy troops on the other side, if they didn't break up, they would all die in piles.

It has to be said that in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, when the world was full of powerful heroes, Liu Heikai was born in a low-born family. He was successively under the command of Wagangzhai, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande. In fact, he is more dangerous than the first three.

This is a general who can fight in person and has extremely high military talent. Liu Heita's failure is not because of his lack of ability, but because he does not have enough confidence and can only take risks.

Once you fail, it's hard to turn around.

"Isn't it here yet?"

"It will take at least a quarter of an hour." Qi Shanxing shook his head slightly, "Brother Ming Zhen insisted on leading the army himself, and now that the battle has started, even if the opponent's scouts find out, Liu Heitai will not be able to mobilize troops to deal with it."

Ma Zhou pointed with his right hand in the air, and said with a smile, "Director Tian leads his troops southward, Liu Heitai must respond with his direct descendants, just now we saw at least a thousand cavalry marching northward.

If Manager Cheng successfully crossed the river and led [-] cavalry to attack...it happened to be covered by the city wall of Wei County, even if Liu Heita knew it, it would be difficult to mobilize the cavalry to stop it. "

After communicating with Guantao Tang Jun as a messenger, Cheng Mingzhen decided on the strategy of crossing the river and flanking after repeated deliberation.

Under normal circumstances, it would take quite a long time to build a simple bridge that can pass through, and the enemy scouts are not blind... The two armies faced each other across the river, and the most wary thing was that the other side sneaked across the river from upstream and downstream.

Once the pontoon bridge is built in advance, it must be detected by the opponent's scouts, which loses the meaning of cavalry raids.

But Cheng Mingzhen is really a ruthless man, he has the determination and reason to kill Liu Heitai, and he loves soldiers like a son, so he has soldiers to die.

Cheng Mingzhen is a local who has worked in Weizhou and Xiangzhou for a long time. He is very familiar with the Yongji Canal. He found a shallow water that is not too deep. He simply built a bridge with long giant logs and bamboos, took off his armor and led the horse, and entered the water to cross the river.

It's already the end of October, it's not the twelfth lunar month, but it's cold winter. Although the water hasn't frozen yet, it's still cold enough... In such weather, going into the water and crossing the river, what a ferocious werewolf.

Qi Shanxing looked at the battle on the other side. The Tang army had already captured the bridge and ferry, but it was difficult to expand the results of the battle. On both sides, enemy soldiers with spears attacked, and the frontal soldiers used huge shields to block each other.

Moreover, there are only 2000 Tang army infantry in total, and only [-] of them can directly participate in the battle. It is difficult to break the formation if all of them are cast.

Of course, Qi Shanxing and Cheng Mingzhen also had other considerations. Ma Zhou clenched his hands nervously, "Boss Qi, are you okay?"

"No rush, no rush."

Qi Shanxing felt that he could still hold on, but Liu Heita on the other side of the river couldn't hold it anymore, and was ready to pick up the knife with his own hands... The burning of the grain ship on the Yongji Canal was a great blow to the morale of the army. At the ferry, other places are already in chaos, people are screaming, and various noises can be heard endlessly.

In other words, besides blocking the ferry and bridges, Liu Heitai can no longer control the tens of thousands of people under his command.

Liu Heikai took a deep breath, got on his horse, and stared intently at the battle at the ferry. There were hundreds of cavalry at the foot of the hill, and he tried to defeat the Tang army at the ferry and drive them across the river. Spread the battle to the other side of the river.

But now there is a problem, Liu Heitai couldn't help turning his head to look north.

At the same time, Qi Shanxing on the other side of the river, and Cheng Mingzhen, who was continuing to move forward in the river, were all looking north.

The fire on the Yongji Canal had a more serious influence on the morale of the army than Liu Heitai imagined... These two thousand cavalry were all Liu Heitai's direct descendants.

Although the truth was not announced, and even though they did not know that the grain transport ship was a cover, no one was stupid... At least it was the truth that the grain and grass in the army had been halved and then halved, and it was also the truth that the horses could not be refueled in the middle of the night.

Unknowingly, the formation of two thousand cavalry has become loose, the generals have no generals, and the soldiers have no fighting spirit... On the contrary, among the Tang cavalry gathered in the formation, the horse in Li Daoxuan's hand is slowly flattened, and the surging fighting spirit is in his chest Rolling around, there was a coldness in his eyes.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"hold on……"

Li Daoxuan snorted coldly and urged the horse to speed up. Wang Junkuo should have led the cavalry to meet up half an hour ago, but there has been no sign yet.

Li Daoxuan didn't know why, but he knew that today's battle was fought with Cheng Mingzhen and Qi Shanxing on the west bank of Yongji Canal, if they retreat now, the battle will be lost.

First, there was a rain of arrows. Li Daoxuan, Su Dingfang and other generals bowed their heads slightly, resisting with only the armor on their bodies.

With a bang, Su Ding and Fang Changqiang swept across, and several enemy soldiers, Rome, had already broken through the formation first.

Li Daoxuan leaned down, and the dark horse's lance poked out the dull tip, easily tore the chests of the three cavalrymen of the opponent, and strung them into a string.

Li Daoxuan was stunned, such a magical weapon... Before he had time to think more, his heart moved, and the horse under his crotch circled an arc. He drew out the long knife with his left hand and slashed vigorously, while dragging the horse with his right hand, he pulled it back.

"Wang Xiaohu!"

"Wang Xiaohu!"

Li Daoxuan stared at Wang Xiaohu who was wearing bright light armor. The two horses only met each other before being quickly blocked by the guards and cavalry of both sides.

At this time, Liu Jun and other hundreds of cavalrymen who rushed into the battle shouted loudly, "Fifty grain ships were burned, and the Liu thief has no food, and those who abandon their weapons and escape, forget the past!"

These words may not be effective to the pawns, firstly, they may not be willing to believe them, and secondly, they will not be able to escape even if they want to escape.

But for these cavalry, the lack of food in the army is very likely to be real, and the fire on Yongji Canal also proved this point, and they can escape if they want to escape... Tang Jun will not chase and flee The soldiers are scattered and brave, after all, Liu Heita is still there.

Wang Xiaohu didn't want to escape, so he shouted loudly and gathered his troops, trying to turn around and fight again, but the cavalry formation was quite chaotic, and before he could sort it out, Li Daoxuan, who was eager for revenge, had already entered the formation.

The enemy army has not yet dispersed, and their strength is several times that of their own. The cavalry charged into the formation, and the whole team should charge and fight again... But Li Daoxuan is usually gentle and refined, and he doesn't care about life and death after going into battle, not to mention the bright light armor on Wang Xiaohu's body. It was picked off from him, Lee Daoxuan.

With only more than a hundred cavalry, Li Daoxuan dared to charge... Su Dingfang, who followed behind, was calm and could not help but feel a little headache. No wonder Li Shan was worried about letting himself protect him.

But this time, the timing of the charge was just right, and the two thousand cavalry didn't actually suffer too much loss. After all, the formation was scattered, and the Tang army could easily break through the formation.

But after a charge, the formation of the two thousand cavalry was even more chaotic, especially after hearing the Tang army loudly preaching that "Liu thieves have no food, and those who abandon their weapons and flee, forget the past".

Wang Xiaohu was no longer able to control the cavalry under his command, he only had more than a hundred personal guards around him.

When Li Daoxuan took the lead and chanted Wang Xiaohu's name to fight all the way, the enemy army in front of him actually dispersed...

Wang Xiaohu was so angry that he was about to vomit blood, and his name was shouted loudly, and the subordinates around him divided a channel for Li Daoxuan to take the Chinese army directly.

Li Daoxuan clamped his legs, pointed at Wang Xiaohu with a lance in one hand, and slashed vigorously with the long knife in his left hand, cutting down the enemy soldiers who missed by the left and right guards.

Su Dingfang slowed down his horse, took off the big bow on his back with his backhand, and the first arrow hit Wang Xiaohu in front of Wang Xiaohu who was gathering his personal guards to fight against the enemy general.

The second arrow hit the guard holding a banner not far from Wang Xiaohu.

To what extent can personal force be exerted on the ancient battlefield, and how deeply can it affect the outcome of the battle?

The first arrow made Wang Xiaohu's guards stop, and the first arrow made Wang Xiaohu's flag fall to the ground.

The first arrow made Li Daoxuan, who was accelerating non-stop, break through the formation, and the second arrow made Wang Xiaohu lose all courage and tried to retreat.

The next moment, amidst the loud shouts, Li Daoxuan tightly held the reins with his left hand, and the tip of the horse's spear with his right hand had already submerged under Wang Xiaohu's shoulder.

As if he didn't feel the pain of the weapon being added to his body, and didn't seem to notice the opponent's bodyguard who rushed at him, Li Daoxuan held the lance in both hands, and lifted Wang Xiaohu high into the air.

There seemed to be a moment of silence, and then a huge noise filled the entire battlefield.

Amidst the loud shouts of "Wang Xiaohu grants the head", the enemy army could hardly organize any formation and let hundreds of Tang cavalry drive them away.

But at this moment, hundreds of cavalrymen appeared from the east side, a middle-aged strong man with a square face but with a sly look in his eyes clicked twice, "You really broke into the formation, Huaiyang King! I'm not afraid that Tian Liu'an is the second Duke Yuan!"

The left and right guards didn't say a word, and one of them asked in a low voice: "General, flank the enemy?"

This middle-aged strong man is Wang Junkuo, the servant of the Daxingtai Military Department of Eastern Shaanxi Province. He has always been known for taking advantage of the advantages and not losing the disadvantages. .

Wang Junkuo didn't expect Li Daoxuan to break through the enemy's front line so easily, and a big victory was almost in his hands, without Turkic cavalry... He knew what kind of weight two thousand cavalry had in Liu Heita's army.

Just when Wang Junkuo was about to lead his army westward, suddenly there was a huge noise outside Weixian City.

A huge column of smoke fluttered in the air, raging flames spread in the enemy camp, and the city of Wei County fell into an uncontrollable chaos.

Liu Heita, who was personally mounting his horse and leading his troops to defeat the Tang army at the ferry, couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

But Wang Junkuo's eyes were bright, he waved his horse, and shouted: "Follow me!"

I didn't expect to have the opportunity to directly capture the Chinese army, maybe even capture and kill Liu Heita!

(End of this chapter)