The color gradually brightened, and many Goguryeo soldiers who were tired sat on the surface of the river on the ground in a daze, obviously as long as they crossed the river, they could be safe, but they couldn't find the pontoon bridge built before, and when they fled for their lives, the two sides were empty, and there was nothing with them, and there was no wood on the grassland, even if they wanted to build a bridge now, it was impossible.

Some soldiers vaguely remembered the fire that night, but they didn't want to believe it, it was undoubtedly their own glimmer of hope, and suddenly several soldiers shouted in the distance: "Found it, found the bridge." ”

Everyone was overjoyed, and ran towards the several soldiers who were shouting, and hurriedly asked, "Where is it, where is it?" ”

The soldiers pointed to the middle of the river with tears streaming down their faces, speechless, and in an instant those who came to ask were also dead, and when the sky brightened, they could already vaguely see the wooden stakes of the pontoon bridge that had not been burned under the water, and the pontoon bridge they were looking for was long gone.

The news that the bridge had been destroyed soon spread throughout the army, and some people began to cry, while others shouted at the river, but in the face of the cold, biting water several miles wide, there was no bridge, no boat, and no one knew how to cross it.

Wen Da and other generals were also full of disappointment, although they already knew that the pontoon bridge was destroyed, but they let those soldiers look for it, hoping to find boats or planks that could cross the river, but now everyone was empty-handed, naturally nothing was found.

The other side of the river was empty, and there was not even a figure to be seen, and this time the troops were dispatched urgently, and no one was left behind, otherwise the whole army would not have fallen into such an embarrassing situation.

A puff of dust and smoke rose in the distance, and there was a faint sound of horses' hooves, and after the sky was bright, the enemy army had begun to pursue, and Wen Da and other generals were in a hurry.

"Plop, plop." There were several loud noises in the river. Everyone looked towards the sound, only to see a few anxious soldiers jumping down the Liao River with their horses, urging the horses to swim to the opposite bank.

Everyone looked nervously at the few people in the river, at this time the river was not panting, they quickly walked out of the distance of hundreds of meters, but rushed out of the downstream for more than ten meters, the river gradually spread to the waist of the cavalry, and the horses under them walked more and more slowly, and they were already shivering with cold. The same goes for the knight on horse.

After a few hundred meters, one of the riders suddenly slipped off his horse, and then swept into the water, and disappeared without a trace, and as the first cavalry slid into the water, the rest of the cavalry also slid into the water, only to bubble a few times, and then disappeared without a trace, and then sank into the water with their horses.

There was a dead silence on the shore. These precedents taught them that they should not rely on horses to cross the river without the means to cross the river.

Wen Da's eyes lit up, it is the dry season, the water level of the Liao River is at least a few zhang lower than the highest water level in the Xia Festival, the river crossing point here is not good, maybe there are other places to cross the river: "Chuan Ben will order, vacate three hundred horses, and drive them into the river in sections." ”

The other generals quickly understood what Wen Da meant, and they hurriedly passed Wen Da's order down. Three hundred horsemen tearfully led their mounts to the river and whipped them so hard that they would drive them down the river.

Even the horses, in the face of the icy and biting water, refused to go down easily, for a while. The whole Liao River was full of the sound of horses screaming and mourning, and many cavalrymen were reluctant to drive their horses down the river and cried loudly. There was a sudden mourning on the river.

The smoke and dust stirred up by the enemy cavalry behind him were getting closer and closer, and Wen Da shouted out almost with all his strength: "Quick, stab with a knife, the pursuers will arrive immediately." ”

Hearing the order, the cavalry did not dare to hesitate any longer, some cavalry whipped their beloved horses vigorously, and some cavalrymen used knives to stab blood marks directly on the horse's buttocks, and the war horse could not suffer. At last they jumped into the river with a cry and swam to the opposite bank, and some of the horses wanted to return, but they had to swim forward when they looked at their masters, who were carrying knives and had murderous eyes on the shore.

Forcing their beloved horses into the river, many cavalrymen are like knives, and a good rider must regard his horse as a friend, so that he can achieve heart-to-heart communication when he fights in peacetime. Now forcing the beloved horse to die with his own hands is undoubtedly a very cruel thing.

Many of these horses have not yet swam to the middle of the river. It was swept away by the river and disappeared without a trace, except for a dozen or so horses that swam across the other bank and stood on the east bank of the river neighing.

The whole army of Goguryeo was overjoyed, and tried several times at the place where the horses crossed the river safely, and finally found a place where they could barely cross the river, but this place was still too narrow, and only a dozen horses could be ridden at a time, and there was a small section that would drown all the men and horses, and if they couldn't get through, or accidentally deviated and rolled into deep water, they would eventually drown or freeze to death in the river.

It's just that instead of staying on the west bank and waiting for death, it is better to wade across the Liao River, as long as you get to the other side of the river, you can live, with this mood, many Goguryeo cavalry as soon as they determine the location where they can cross the river, immediately squeeze towards that place, and in an instant countless cavalry jumped into the river, desperately rushing to cross.

In an instant, this section of the river crossing point is only dozens of zhang wide with people, countless people and horses are scrambling to cross the river, but the Khitan people behind are less than ten miles, and the rumbling sound of horses' hooves is like urging life, forcing more and more Goguryeo people to jump down the river.

The Goguryeo officer shouted: "Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, let the princess pass first." ”

It's just that no one pays attention to the shouts of the officers, here, there is no distinction between high and low, there is no distinction between officers and soldiers, everyone thinks in their hearts that as long as the past is life, if they can't get by, they will die. In the middle of the river, people and horses were neighing and chaotic, and many people were squeezed into the deep water by their companions, screaming and being swept away by the river. Soon the lower reaches of the river were full of floating corpses of people and horses, which was unbearable, and this situation made Wen Da and other generals unexpected, and looked helplessly at the Goguryeo soldiers who were in chaos in the river.

"General Wen, quickly order to stop crossing the river!" Princess Pingkang was in a hurry, almost yelling at Wen. If this chaos continues, even if there are no pursuers, the 2,000-strong army will be swallowed up by the river.

Wen Da reacted and ordered his guards to shout the order: "Stop crossing the river!" Stop crossing the river! ”

If Wenda was talking on the ground, maybe these soldiers could stop when they heard the order, but Wenda's prestige was far less than Wenda's, and when they heard the order, the soldiers only hesitated a little, but they jumped into the river without hesitation, although they saw that most of them were drowned, but the neighing of more than a dozen horses that had crossed the river encouraged them to move forward.

Seeing that the order was useless, Wen Da viciously ordered: "Those who do not obey the order will be killed!" ”

"Yes." Thorns. The sound of stabbing horses' hooves sounded, and more than a hundred cavalry around Wen Da rushed there

The soldiers who were ready to cross the river raised their knives and shouted: "Stand back, stand back, or you will be killed."

Seeing their own cavalry rushing forward, those soldiers who were hot-headed and bent on going down the river cleared their minds a little and retreated back, and some of those who hesitated a little were unceremoniously cut off their heads by Wen Da's own soldiers. The riverside was suddenly stained red with blood. Before they could cross the river, the soldiers stepped aside and gave way to cross the river.

Wen Da hurriedly said to Princess Pingkang: "Princess, quickly, cross the river first." ”

Princess Pingkang shook her head: "No, let the army cross the river first, and the palace is guarding here." ”

Wen Da and the others were in a hurry, if Princess Pingkang refused to cross the river, their hard work would be in vain, and Wen Da gave a look to a general behind him. signaled to knock the princess unconscious as it was, but Princess Pingkang had already taken precautions and put the knife on her neck: "Don't move, quickly organize the army to cross the river, otherwise it will be too late." ”

Wen Da and the others were helpless, so they just ordered the ten cavalry people to cross the river side by side, hand in hand on the horse, so that it was really orderly, and no one was washed away when the people in front of them walked to the middle of the river. It's just that the speed is as slow as a snail, and no matter how anxious the people on the shore are, it is impossible for the people in the water to speed up.

"Ho-ho! Hohoo! "......The shouts of the Khitan cavalry can already be heard, and the hooves of tens of thousands of cavalry shake the river and wrinkle the ripples, and the Khitans are already several miles away from them. This distance would not have been reached at the speed of the cavalry, and it would not have been enough for the army to cross the river. There was a commotion from the Goguryeo soldiers on the shore.

With a sound of "Zheng", Princess Pyeongkang drew out her sword and raised it high: "Goguryeo warriors, follow me, block the enemy, and let the army cross the river." ”

The Goguryeo soldiers looked at each other and watched their princess come forward, and many soldiers felt ashamed in their hearts, they were the most heroic and warlike cavalry in Goguryeo, and they should not have fled without a battle yesterday. Today, you should not squeeze your companions into deep water in order to survive.

Many soldiers who were about to cross the river silently turned around and followed behind Princess Pingkang, looking at the Khitan cavalry coming from afar, their eyes were full of murder: "Come on, since you can't escape, let's fight, the warriors of Goguryeo are not cowards." ”

Wen Da followed Princess Pingkang, stomped his feet and said, "Princess, you must hurry up and cross the river, there is a lowly position here." ”

"General Wen. You continue to organize people to cross the river, and you can't let the blood of the warriors be shed in vain. The fifth princess said calmly. The tone is not to be refused.

Wen Da sighed, but retreated, and on the shore desperately urged the soldiers to cross the river.

After dawn in Utu, he led the cavalry to chase but a dead horse as a live horse doctor, he thought that the Goguryeo people had already crossed the river, and as long as the Goguryeo people destroyed the bridge, no matter how many Khitan cavalry people were, they could only look at the river and sigh, but they did not expect to chase to the river, but the other party not only did not cross the river, but also did not even have a bridge, and was wading across the river.

Looking at the Goguryeo people who were rushing to flee for their lives in the river, the Khitan cavalry was stunned at first, and then laughed, as long as they reached the river and shot with a bow and arrow, the entire river was probably dyed red by the blood of the Goguryeo people immediately, as for the hundreds of Goguryeo cavalry blocking the road in front, the Khitan people did not pay attention to it at all.

"Kill!" The Khitan cavalry held their scimitars high and rushed towards hundreds of Goguryeo cavalry like vicious wolves, as long as they killed or dispersed these three or four hundred Goguryeo cavalry, the Goguryeo people in the river could only be at their mercy.

Facing the Khitan cavalry that poured up like a tide, these hundreds of Goguryeo cavalry were like a small boat floating in the wind, which would be capsized and swallowed by the wind and waves at any time.

There was no fear on the faces of these hundreds of Goguryeo cavalrymen, and when they followed the princess and took the initiative to stop the enemy, they all had the consciousness of death. Looking at the Khitans rushing in all directions, the Goguryeo soldiers stood still and began to bend their bows and arrows.

"Shoot!" Princess Pingkang screamed, and the long arrow in her hand shot first, shooting a Khitan cavalry who had entered the firing range off her horse.

"Whew! Shout! ......"Hundreds of arrows rained down together and flew towards the Khitan cavalry formation, and the Khitan forwards suddenly turned on their backs, and nearly 100 people were planted under the horses, and they were trampled into meat in a blink of an eye.

"Shoot!"

"Shoot!"

After three rounds in a row, the Khitan cavalry began to counterattack, and countless arrows collided in the sky, knocking out strings of sparks, and more arrows fell into the ground formations of both sides.

"Ah, ah" There were bursts of screams from both sides, although there were many Khitans, they were moving at high speed, and the accuracy of the arrows was greatly reduced, but it seemed to be at a loss, but the loss of this point did not care at all for the nearly 10,000 Khitan cavalry, and the speed of the Khitan charge did not decrease at all.

After several rounds of mutual shooting, both sides put away their bows and arrows, and the Khitan cavalry charging at high speed suddenly collided with the stationary Goguryeo cavalry, relying on the advantage of speed, the weapons in the hands of the Goguryeo soldiers of the previous lord were knocked away by the Khitan cavalry, and then their heads were also thrown into the air, and in an instant, the junction of the two armies stirred up a blood flower.

In order to protect the army that was crossing the river, the Goguryeo cavalry gave up the speed advantage, struggling to support the defensive line, after paying the price of hundreds of people in front, the Khitan cavalry slowed down, and had to fight with the Goguryeo cavalry with real swords and guns, the Khitan cavalry regiments behind were circulating, but they were blocked by their own people, and the strength of the empty self was more than ten times that of Goguryeo.

The sound of the water rattled, and the Goguryeo cavalry, who had crossed the river with nine deaths, were almost frozen, and the first thing many soldiers did after coming ashore was to quickly cut the hay and dead branches by the river with knives to make a fire and roast their clothes, otherwise they would freeze to death even if they crossed the river in the northern October weather.

When these people thought they had escaped, they didn't know that there were two hundred pairs of eyes staring at them in the grass in the distance, they were Wei Chong and his two hundred subordinates, who burned down the pontoon bridge, and Wei Chong and the others saw all the boats on the riverside, and after the planks were collected, they did not return to the army, but crossed the river and lurked on the other side.