(2-in-1)

Once the shield array was broken and the cavalry burst into the formation, that was the beginning of the nightmare. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoMore than 1,000 horsemen rushed left and right, galloping across the rebel formation, invincible. Originally, the infantry of the cavalry team was crushing, not to mention that Wang Yuan's subordinates were all selected elite guards cavalry. Their weapons and equipment and combat skills are first-class, and they are the nightmare of these rebel infantry.

Although Yuan Bin tried his best to organize resistance, his soldiers were frightened and unwilling to fight under the frantic slaughter of the cavalry. After more than 1,000 infantry of the Tang Army also rushed up to join the battle group, although the Tang Army's horse infantry army, which had a total of less than 3,000 people, was smaller than the opponent in terms of numbers, it was already crushing in terms of combat power and courage. The rebels put up resistance for only a short time before they began to crumble.

Many people turned around and fled in the direction of the muddy riverbank, and Yuan Bin could not stop the rout of the soldiers and horses after slashing and killing more than a dozen people. The soldiers frantically jumped off the embankment and crawled towards the opposite bank. Although the mud in the river was thigh-deep, and although there were obstacles such as branches and stumps, it did not stop the fleeing soldiers. It has to be said that the potential of human beings is unlimited, the soldiers and horses on the other side are hesitating how to cross the river full of silt and branches after this flood, and these soldiers who fled perfectly demonstrated what it means to have nothing difficult in the world but to fear the people with hearts, they have forcibly opened up a path, like exhausted loaches struggling to crawl to the other side in the mud.

Yuan Bin was helpless, he was unwilling to accept such an ending, but he was powerless to return to heaven. Looking at the battle situation in front of him with only more than a thousand soldiers left struggling to support him, he knew that the resistance at this moment was meaningless.

"Withdraw, withdraw." Yuan Bin waved his hand weakly and gave the order to retreat.

There was only one way to retreat, and that was the muddy avenue carved out by the brave soldiers. If Yuan Bin wanted to retreat, he could only pass through the muddy avenue. Although Yuan Bin would never want to do this, he had no choice. Surrounded by soldiers on the left and right, Yuan Bin slid down the slippery slope beside the river with a snort. He was then grabbed by his legs by the knee-deep mud.

"General Yuan, if you use the climber, you can't walk, you have to climb over." A general loudly taught Yuan Bin the secret of crossing the river.

Yuan Bin didn't know that he had to crawl to get over, but he didn't want to become one of the hundreds of loaches rolling in the mud in front of him. But he still had no choice, because more and more soldiers jumped down from the riverbank, which indicated that the Tang army would soon be killed on the riverbank. Yuan Bin gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, and his whole body fell into the mud. The two guards beside him pushed him on the buttocks, and Yuan Bin's body slipped forward a few feet. At the same time, his mouth and face were a mess of sewage and mud.

'Phew! Yuan Bin spat out the sludge in his mouth, and rowed towards the opposite bank like thousands of loaches, and soon he couldn't tell who he was, and even the soldiers around him couldn't recognize the forward general. A soldier even thought that Yuan Bin was climbing too slowly and blocked his way, and climbed directly over Yuan Bin's body. Yuan Bin wanted to open his mouth to scold, but he finally held back. What's the point of concern at this time? Hurry up and climb across the river in a muffled voice.

Some of the fighting on the shore soon ended, and the fighting soon subsided after the rebels fled in large numbers. After the surrender of hundreds of rebels, there was not a single enemy soldier standing on the battlefield. The cavalry scattered all over the place gathered in one place, all panting and covered in blood. Although it was a crushing battle, it was also a very dangerous battle.

"Marshal, the rebels fled to the other side, are you chasing?" Zhao Qing reported loudly.

Wang Yuan waved his hand and said: "Do not chase close to the river bank, the enemy on the opposite bank can reach with bows and arrows." Approaching the banks of the river will be attacked. You can shoot deserters in the river with a bow and arrow, but you are not allowed to go within range of the opponent's bow and arrow. How many can be killed. ”

"Yes!" Zhao Qing and Tan Ping immediately conveyed the order, and hundreds of Tang archers approached the river bank a hundred paces away and fired indiscriminate arrows at the fleeing enemy troops in the river. The rebels on the opposite bank also used bows and arrows to cover the retreat of the soldiers and horses in the river. However, the Tang army stood outside the range and only fired arrows into the river, so the range of bows and arrows on the opposite bank was not as long, and the Tang army could not cover the entire range of arrows, so it could only shoot some deserters close to the south bank. But even so, the loaches in the river were shot countless times. Among them was Yuan Bin, the forward general who crawled slowly and couldn't get out of range. He was dragged and trampled by his soldiers, causing him to move slowly, and he was shot in the back by several arrows, and he was forever prostrate in the mud.

On the other side of Qishui, Chang Yuantu witnessed the tragic battle on the other side of the river throughout the whole process, and he was thunderous but there was nothing he could do. He urged his soldiers countless times to find a way to cross the river for reinforcements, but the muddy river after the torrent could not allow the soldiers to reinforce quickly. Although the river is only a dozen zhang wide, it is almost impassable after the flood. The soldiers tried many times, but almost all the hundreds of soldiers wearing armor and blades were stuck in the river and could not extricate themselves, and it was obviously impossible to cross the river directly. The only way to do this is to build a channel across the river through the silt. However, this will take time.

The road between the branches and dry grass was only a little paved, and the battle on the other side ended in a great defeat. Chang Yuantu never expected that nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses would be defeated in such a short period of time. Looking at the loaches squirming back all over the river, Chang Yuantu even had an urge to order them all to be shot. But fortunately, reason finally prevailed over anger, and although blood was dripping from his heart, he still ordered to shoot the other bank with a bow and arrow to cover the return of the group of loaches.

Half an hour later, more than 2,000 loaches covered in mud escaped death and climbed onto the opposite shore, sitting on the ground trembling one by one. Chang Yuantu searched for a long time in this group of loaches and didn't find Yuan Bin, he stomped his feet and sighed, not only losing more than 7,000 soldiers and horses, but also losing his own henchmen and favorite generals. The serious question before him was whether to cross the river and fight immediately, or to reassess the likelihood of victory or defeat. The 30,000-strong army lost almost 30% of the losses in just the first battle, and the soldiers and horses on the opposite side were just a group of soft persimmons fleeing in a hurry?

After thinking about it for a while, Chang Yuantu decided to retreat and camp for several miles. He didn't want to take any chances. 10,000 soldiers and horses were defeated in an hour, which obviously made Chang Yuantu's heart feel cold. It shows how strong the enemy's attack power is. When he first learned the news of Kang Wuyebo's failure, Chang Yuantu was already surprised. Now, it seems, that was no accident. Kang Wuyebo has more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, but he was still served by Lian Pot, and he only has 20,000 soldiers and horses at the moment, so he can't repeat the mistakes of the past. Another more important reason is that Chang Yuantu knew that an army of 50,000 people sent from Luoyang was coming under the leadership of the new generalissimo Yan Zhuang of Zhengnan. Wouldn't it be much more certain to wait for the solemn army to arrive, and then to fight together. Although the credit will not be gained, as long as he can assist Yan Zhuang to besiege and kill the opponent, at least he can offset today's mistakes. Since you can't make meritorious contributions, then no fault is also a good result, and you can't fight with your opponent.

After making up his mind, Chang Yuantu immediately ordered the soldiers and horses to retreat several miles overnight and build fortifications for defense. Not only did he refuse to take the initiative to attack, but he also had to be prepared for the opponent to take the initiative to attack.

……

In the camp at the foot of Niutou Mountain, the cavalry infantry of the Tang Army was slowly entering the camp. Tens of thousands of people silently stepped forward to help these bloodied soldiers sit down, bandage their wounds, and feed them water and dry food. Many women and children cried out in pain. Because when they see the scars on the bodies of these soldiers, they can understand what kind of bloody battle was fought at that time.

Some soldiers had more than a dozen wounds on their bodies, and their flesh and blood were blurred, and they couldn't even tear off their clothes when they bandaged their wounds. Some of the wounds on their bodies were deep in the bones, and half of their bodies were stained red with blood, but they gritted their teeth and did not cry out in pain. Some soldiers lost an arm or half a leg, but they were still fighting.

The mortally wounded soldiers were then carried into the camp by bodies that had lost their lives. These are the corpses of soldiers who died in battle. When the corpses were brought in, the people, who had been weeping quietly, finally began to cry. As they wept bitterly, they went to settle the corpses, straighten up their tattered armor, and clean them to the last of their appearances. For a while, the scene was extremely bleak, and the cry of pain spread all over the four fields.

Wang Yuan stood at the edge of the camp, looking at the situation in front of him, his heart was also extremely painful. Although he is used to seeing life and death, this kind of time is always frustrating and painful, especially after those familiar faces who get along day and night disappear, Wang Yuan always has a sense of guilt. Although he also understands that this mood should not be there.

"Please Yan Taishou to comfort the people not to cry, we still have too many things to do, this is not the time to cry. It is human nature that there will be casualties in war. I don't want the grief of the people to demoralize me, and I don't know how many battles will be fought in the future. Wang Yuan commanded in a deep voice.

Yan Zhenqing nodded slightly, and arched his hand: "What Xiangguo said is very true, Yan will go and explain to them." By the way, thank Xiangguo for all the people, we survived this battle. I can't believe that we have won. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "It turns out that Yan Taishou actually has no confidence in this battle, which is not good." Always keep faith, this is the prerequisite for victory. You and I don't have confidence, so how can our soldiers and horses have confidence? ”

Yan Zhenqing hurriedly said: "The lower officials know their mistakes, and they did have some lack of confidence before the war, but after this battle, I am full of confidence in Xiangguo in any future battle." ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "You also have to have confidence in yourself, your soldiers and horses in Pingyuan County performed well in this battle, and this is all the work of your training and restraint." I think the soldiers and horses on the other side of the strait may not dare to attack for the time being, and they should have understood that we are not easy to provoke. But it's not over yet, and if they don't retreat tomorrow, we'll have to be ready to fight at any time, so we'll have to pick ourselves up to deal with it. In the blink of an eye, please ask Yan Taishou to bury the corpse, and then take the people and wounded soldiers to hurry overnight, and we will also observe the enemy troops in the rear, and see if they will cross the river to pursue after dawn. ”

Yan Zhenqing nodded in agreement, respectfully bowed his hand, and left in a hurry.

At the bottom of the slope, Zhao Qing and Tan Ping hurriedly came, Zhao Qing hung from his neck with a cloth strip wrapped in one arm, and the cloth strip was full of blood. When the two saw Wang Yuan, they hurriedly bowed and saluted.

Wang Yuan looked at Zhao Qing's arm and said, "How is the injury?" ”

"Xie Dashuai cares, it's just a skin injury, they insist on me hanging it up and bandaging it, and I'm not used to it." Zhao Qing said with a smile.

Tan Ping said: "I have seen all the bones, and I still brag." Look at me, there is not a single wound on my body, why are you so stupid, you will be injured in this little battle. ”

Zhao Qing was speechless, but speechless. These two people like to compete and quarrel, and Wang Yuan has become commonplace, knowing that they are just joking.

"It's okay to get hurt, just don't lose your life. We also suffered heavy casualties in this battle, can you count the specific figures? Wang Yuan asked.

As soon as they asked about the casualty figures, the smiles on Zhao Qing and Tan Ping's faces immediately disappeared, because the casualties in this battle were indeed very heavy.

"Marshal, this battle, including more than 2,000 prisoners, annihilated more than 7,000 enemies. Our army did suffer heavy casualties. More than half of the infantry in Plains City lost more than half, killed in thousands, and seriously wounded more than 280 people, and I am afraid that these people will not survive this night. My cavalry brothers were killed...... Three hundred and sixty-seven were killed and one hundred and fifty-seven seriously wounded. The rest of the brothers were almost all wounded. This time the loss was really bad. Zhao Qing said in a low tone.

Wang Yuan took a breath of cold air, and his mood was extremely depressed. He had expected heavy casualties in this battle, but he didn't expect it to be so bad. More than fifty percent of the infantry were killed or wounded, and their own elite personal guards cavalry suffered such heavy casualties. The so-called seriously injured are actually synonymous with near-death, and these soldiers are basically unable to survive, because the medical skills of these years are simply not able to treat them. That is to say, almost thirty percent of the elite cavalry guards were lost in this battle, and these were all soldiers who were selected by themselves, and this loss was too great.

"In addition to casualties, the horses were also badly damaged. More than 300 horses were killed in the battle, and more than 100 horses were no longer able to go to the battlefield. Many horses have even had their intestines poked out, and some of them are blind and have broken legs, not to mention going to the battlefield, it is difficult to walk. Tan Ping also said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan sighed, nodded and said, "I know, you can do it." If they think they can live, they simply let them go in this hill and let them find their own way to survive. Those who are no longer able to live, do not let them suffer, but give them a good time. ”

"Do as the commander orders." The two of them replied.

Wang Yuan was depressed, waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Go and do it." We must pay close attention to the movements of the enemy forces on the other side, be ready to fight again at any time, and do not take our actions lightly. The losses in this battle are so heavy that if you fight again, you may not be able to engage in the battle, so you must detect the opponent's movements in advance. ”

"Yes." Zhao Qing and Tan Ping could see that Wang Yuan was depressed, and they didn't dare to disturb it more, so they retreated.

Wang Yuan stood quietly on the rock, and after a while, the gray cry of the war horse came from the hot wind. Wang Yuan knew that it was Zhao Qing and Tan Ping dealing with those seriously injured horses, and those were the wails of the war horses before they died. Although those are unspeakable livestock, they are also comrades-in-arms who fight side by side. Although it is not as emotional as others, it is also very difficult to solve them by hand.

Wang Yuan sighed and sat on the ground slowly, the moans and shouts of the wounded around him, the whispered cries of the people and the wails of the war horses before their dying sounds, which made Wang Yuan suddenly feel that the strength of his whole body was withdrawn, and his whole body became sore. Wang Yuan held his head in his hands, buried his head and face in his knees, and was silent.

A pair of gentle hands gently stroked Wang Yuan's head, Wang Yuan slowly looked up, but saw Gongsun Lan coming to his side at some point, staring at him with gentle eyes.

"Erlang, are you uncomfortable?"

"yes, I don't know when these things came to an end. I don't like this life at all, really, I hate it, but I'm stuck in it and I can't get out, it's like a nightmare, and I never seem to wake up. Wang Yuan shook his head painfully.

"Erlang, I know what you're thinking. However, people come from suffering in this life, and if they want to live and live well, they have to go through too much suffering. In fact, you are not suffering for yourself, you have borne the lives and deaths of too many people, so you will feel double the pain. But if you think about it, you can keep a lot of people alive, give them hope, give them courage, and that's how kind you are to them. ”

Wang Yuan quietly looked at Gongsun Lan's beautiful face and said, "I'm just afraid that I can't withstand the expectations of so many people, and I will disappoint them." ”

"You've done well enough, don't be cranky, who else in the world can do better than you? I haven't seen anyone like that anyway. Gongsun Lan said softly.

……

That night, Yan Zhenqing led more than 1,000 infantry to take the lead in protecting the people, while Wang Yuan and 1,000 cavalry dragged back to guard in case the enemy crossed the river to attack again. When he learned that the enemy army had withdrawn and set up camp, Wang Yuan felt a little relieved. This shows that the enemy brigade is afraid that it will not cross the river to attack in a short time. Tonight's battle must have left the rebels on the other side of the river in a state of apprehension, and they were clearly blinded by the depth of their forces, so they chose to retreat.

It was not until dawn that Wang Yuan led the cavalry to leave the area on the south bank of the Qishui River, and caught up with the large group of men and horses at that time.

However, in the evening, the rear cavalry sentinel flew in to report that the rebel soldiers and horses had been found in the rear. Everyone suddenly became nervous, and Wang Yuan immediately ordered to prepare for the battle. But until dark, the news reported by the sentinel was that the opponent's soldiers and horses had set up camp and stopped advancing, and there was no movement to attack at all.

Fearing that the rebels intended to attack in the middle of the night, everyone did not dare to take it lightly throughout the night, and the Tanma kept sending news all the time, reporting the other party's movements every half an hour. However, the feedback received was that the other party still stood still, nervously alerting its own movements. It seems that they are afraid that their own soldiers and horses will attack their camp at night. The camp was brightly lit all night, and the guards roamed miles from the camp.

Wang Yuan felt very puzzled, the other party attacked but did not attack, and he did not go, and he didn't know what the intention was. The next day, Wang Yuan deliberately made some temptations, he deliberately ordered the brigade to stop and rest, and then probed the movements of the soldiers and horses in the rear, and found that the rebel soldiers and horses also stopped and did not leave. When your own soldiers and horses continue to move forward, the opponent's soldiers and horses begin to follow again. After several temptations, Wang Yuan finally understood that the rebel soldiers and horses were only following behind, and had no intention of attacking.

This is like a pack of hungry wolves, tracking their prey from afar, but they are afraid of the strength of their prey, so they follow for a long time and wait for the best opportunity to attack. In the current situation, when they arrive at the crossing of the Yellow River, I am afraid that it will be the time for them to attack. It will be the most chaotic time, and there will be no way back from the Yellow River.

Wang Yuan summoned everyone to share their views with everyone, and everyone agreed. When the rebels made such a move, they must have been waiting for an opportunity. Indeed, the crossing of the Yellow River was their best chance to attack. With the existing strength of 3,000 horse cavalry, it is difficult to compete head-on. This will be an extremely difficult question.

Wang Yuan didn't want to be forced to fight him head-on at the ferry, it would be a battle with no chance of winning, and Wang Yuan didn't want to fall short at the last minute. So he consulted with the others, hoping to inflict another heavy blow on his opponents in the few days after arriving at the ferry, and completely crush them. Everyone agreed, although it was difficult, but they must not be attacked while crossing the river, so it was better to preemptively look for opportunities.

However, what made Wang Yuan and the others speechless was that the enemy army was obviously as cautious as a frightened bird. Whenever the terrain is precipitous, the other party will first send a small group of soldiers and horses to search and move forward from both sides. was willing to risk the annihilation of these small groups of soldiers and horses, and did not give Wang Yuan a chance to ambush. Both ambushes with better terrain were discovered by the opposing search team, and in the end they had to kill these small groups of soldiers. And the plan of surprise attack at night is also difficult to implement, and the camp of the other party at night is extremely tightly guarded. Several times the soldiers and horses quietly approached, and they were all discovered by the dense night sentries ten miles away. Gongsun Lan personally dispatched to interrupt the night to capture the enemy general, but he was also found as soon as he entered the barracks, and in order to avoid being trapped in the enemy camp, Gongsun Lan had to evacuate quickly.

After several attempts, Wang Yuan abandoned his plans for an ambush and a surprise attack. Obviously, the other side has increased the vigilance of 12 points, and in this high-alert situation, any surprise attack is ineffective. The only way is to attack hard, and this is something Wang Yuan is never willing to do. This matter has almost become a dead end, although it is worry-free for the time being, but this group of hungry wolves is just following behind, and they may rush up and bite at any time, which is really worrying. As we get closer and closer to the Yellow River, this worry is also thick like a dark cloud in everyone's hearts, making everyone frown.

Six days after the Battle of Qishui, Wang Yuan led his soldiers, horses and people to Huazhou. Huazhou is on the bank of the Yellow River, and the Baima ferry port of the Yellow River in South Baima County, Huazhou is the destination of Wang Yuan and others.