Yuan Zongdi was really prescient. His own soldiers went back to deliver the news, and Li Zicheng was just ready to leave. After receiving the news that Li Yan had occupied Lintong and was attacking Yuan Zongdi fiercely, and Yuan Zongdi estimated that he could not resist it, he immediately sent 5,000 troops to seize Baqiao. Another 10,000 troops set up a defensive line on the west bank of the Bahe River. As for the east bank of the Bahe River, it was the task of Yuan Zongdi's department.

Liu Zongmin immediately suggested: "Self-contained, it's not good to do this." ”

"The troops on the east bank, even if they are defeated by Li Yan, can they run out of 10,000 people, right? Now take control of the Bahe River and establish a defensive line on the west bank of the Bahe River. Li Zicheng said confidently: "Li Yan's troops are only 20,000 horses, except for the troops who stayed to guard the important places along the way and protect the baggage, it would be good for him to have 15,000 troops." I have all the equipment he has, and I don't believe he can cross the Bahe River. ”

Liu Zongmin didn't save face for Li Zicheng, and immediately said: "Don't forget, the troops on the east bank have been defeated. They know as soon as they see your setup that you are going to abandon the East Coast, will they stay and die? They're going to cross the bridge, so what are you going to do then? To put them or not to let them cross the bridge? ”

Li Zicheng's face instantly turned unsightly. He knew what Liu Zongmin meant, if he let the defeated troops cross the bridge, they would likely be used by Li Yan and follow him across the bridge, and even the troops on the west bank would be defeated. But if he doesn't let the defeated soldiers cross the bridge, then it will chill the hearts of other soldiers and make the troops have no cohesion.

"Tell me what you can do." Li Zicheng put the overall situation first, and although he was not happy, he still asked Liu Zongmin.

Liu Zongmin said: "Transfer the large army to the east bank and hold on to the east bank. ”

"It's dangerous." Tian Jianxiu immediately objected: "The defeated army on the east bank will disrupt all the troops." In that case, not only will the east coast still be missed, but a large number of troops will also be consumed. ”

Liu Zongmin immediately retorted: "The first task now is to keep Li Yan in the distance, and not let him approach Xi'an, otherwise Xi'an will not be able to hold it at all." As long as he could hold on to the east bank, coupled with the roundabout troops on the north bank of the Wei River, Li Yan should have cared about his back road at that time. ”

As soon as Liu Zongmin finished saying this, Li Shuangxi came in and reported with a solemn face: "Your Majesty, I just received the news from the Marquis of Bo (Li Guo) that they have retreated to the Golden Lock Pass, but Li Mu's troops followed. Moreover, they suffered heavy casualties, only less than 8,000 men and horses, and the artillery baggage was completely discarded, and I am afraid that the golden lock pass will be difficult to hold. They asked His Majesty to prepare early. ”

Li Zicheng said in frustration: "How could you retreat so quickly? ”

Liu Zongmin immediately said: "Don't worry about them, as long as Li Yan is defeated all the way, it doesn't matter if Li Mu hits the Wei River." As long as Li Yan is surrounded and annihilated, we can even take down all of Li Yan's territory, and the entire north will be ours. ”

Li Zicheng hesitated and couldn't make up his mind. You can leave the north side alone, after all, there is still some distance. But if you stick to the east bank of the Ba River, there is really a risk that the troops on the east bank will be wiped out. Although he had already ordered the mobilization of troops from the northwest, it would take some time for them to come, and now Xi'an's troops were only 70,000 or 80,000, and if these more than 30,000 people were buried, Xi'an would be in danger.

Before he could make up his mind, Li Shuangxi came to report again that Yuan Zongdi had already crossed the Baqiao, and the defeated soldiers also ran over to the Baqiao, asking Li Zicheng to decide whether to let the defeated soldiers come over or not.

Li Zicheng didn't have a clear order here, but those defeated soldiers had already rushed to the edge of the Baqiao. The troops who were ordered to defend the Baqiao were not given clear instructions and could only let their brothers pass. However, when they let them go, Baqiao instantly became a gathering place for people, and the order was suddenly chaotic. Although there is also ice on the Bahe River, the ice surface is much thinner, and no one dares to cross the river on the ice.

The defeated soldiers crowded on the bridge and slowly passed by, and the wooden guardrails were also crushed by the crowd, and every now and then someone would be squeezed off the bridge, smashing through the ice and falling into the icy river. But even so, the defeated soldiers behind were still desperately rushing forward, wanting to return to the West Bank as soon as possible.

Li Yan's cavalry were chasing behind, and the artillery on the opposite bank opened fire, and more than a dozen bouncing projectiles hit more than 20 war horses, and the cavalry had to temporarily retreat. However, the defeated soldiers were still very frightened, and they were more afraid of Li Yan's artillery than the cavalry. At a distance of more than two hundred paces, they will be attacked by pieces of projectiles, whether it is a shield or armor, it is difficult to resist the extremely penetrating shotgun. The blood holes on the body, even if the internal organs are not damaged, even if they bleed, they will bleed people to death.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Yan arrived with the infantry. He observed the situation for a moment, and found that the intruders were scrambling to cross the bridge, and a large number of them were gathered near the bridgehead. And on the other side of the Ba River, the intrusive army is also building bunkers, and the artillery is ready.

The Bahe River near the Baqiao Bridge is only sixty or seventy steps wide, and not only the cannons can hit it, but the tiger squat cannons can also exert their power. And Li Zicheng has a lot of artillery, there is a cannon every ten or so steps, and the tiger squat cannon is densely arranged everywhere. If they engage in long-distance artillery battles, not only will they waste time, but they will not be able to break into the army with cover. If you advance to the bank of the Bahe River and use the Tiger Squat Cannon to kill and wound the enemy, your own losses will be greater.

Li Yan thought for a while and said, "Let a few artillery pieces approach the bridge behind the crowd, and then fire at the gathered enemy soldiers." I think the defeated soldiers will flee in other directions. At that time, the troops took the opportunity to deploy and use them as cover for us. The troops were required to cooperate closely to ensure the safety of the artillery, and to push the intruding troops to the bank of the river. ”

This requirement is indeed a bit difficult, but fortunately, the more than 10,000 troops gathered near the bridge were defeated, and they were chased by the cavalry all the way and fled back, discarding a lot of weapons, and also lost the courage to fight to the death. With such a remnant defeated, there shouldn't be many people who will come over and fight with them.

Four four-inch guns were pushed out, and the middle and sides of the guns were guarded by a row of sword and shield men, a line of pikemen, and four rows of musketeers. On either side of them, other artillery was also ready, on the one hand to provide flank cover for the forward guns, and on the other hand, ready to advance at any time.

Those defeated soldiers were not in the mood to care about Li Yan's movements, and the soldiers behind were squeezing forward with all their might, as long as they could cross the Bahe River, they would be safe. And Yuan Zongdi, who was on the west bank of the Bahe River, saw Li Yan's movements through the watchtower, but the artillery in front of Li Yan was blocked by his own people crowded at the bridge, and the tiger squat cannon couldn't hit it, so he could only do it in a hurry.

Yuan Zongdi knew that Li Yan must be planning to seize the bridge, and he had to do something to stop Li Yan's actions. So he ordered: "Order the artillery, immediately open fire on the opposite bank." ”

Ren Jirong, who was in charge of the defense of the west bank, refused: "Mianhou, Li Yan's men and horses are all three miles away, even if they open fire, it will have no effect, so why waste ammunition?" ”

"Li Yan is about to seize the bridge, what ammunition do you care about at this time?!" Yuan Zongdi said dissatisfiedly.

Ren Jirong said expressionlessly: "Mianhou's defense line is on the east bank, and it is already against the holy will to let Mianhou come over." ”

When Yuan Zongdi heard Ren Jirong say this, he could only grit his teeth and stop talking. (To be continued.) )

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