Chapter 224: Confrontation (Subscription Requested)

In the early morning of the second day of the ninth month, the battle against Yuan was launched in the area of 3,000 miles in Jizhou and Sili areas, and the scale was incomparably grand, and the 120,000 Qingzhou army, which had suddenly exposed its sharp fangs for several years, was divided into four routes at almost the same time, and entered the two counties of Hejian in northern Hebei, Qinghe in central Hebei, Hanoi on the north bank of the river, and Hedong in Hedong.

In the face of the relentless and rapid attack of the well-equipped and morale-like Qingzhou Army, the unprepared Jizhou Army had almost no ability to resist, and on the three-thousand-mile front from north to south, the cavalry of the Qingzhou Army could be seen everywhere chasing the scattered Jizhou Yuan Army.

In just one day, the 38,000 Qingzhou troops on the northern front, under the leadership of generals Zhang He and Fu Min, slaughtered to Baitougang, 20 miles east of Hejian, and faced the chaotic Yuan army that gathered in and around Hejian City, with a total of more than 60,000 people, and fearlessly put on a posture of waiting for a decisive battle.

The 20,000 young and strong men and craftsmen who accompanied the army to fight around the Baitougang area, sweating like rain, two trenches with a circumference of four miles and a width of about two zhang quickly took shape in the dust and smoke scattered in the sky, thousands of logs two zhang long were quickly erected, and two hundred and fifty large ballistae were quickly pulled up to the high ground on the inner side of the trench, facing the Yuan army in the west who did not know when they would attack, arranged in an arc.

In front of the neat Qingzhou army array, General Zhang He shook the reins again, drank the restless majestic war horse under his crotch, put away the monocular clairvoyance, turned to Fu Min, and laughed loudly:

Yuan Jun's reaction was all expected by the lord, the flags inside and outside the city wall were tilted, and there were bursts of exclamations, it seemed that Yuan Jun was not psychologically prepared, so he behaved so panicked...... We waited for two hours. Yuan Jun has not yet completed the assembly. Today's battle should not be won't be won. ”

Fu Min on the black horse was still holding clairvoyance. Carefully observing the Yuan army gathering more and more five miles ahead, he nodded: "At noon, the 50,000 friendly troops in Youzhou have already driven to the Wuyuan and Zhongshui lines north of the river, facing the two-sided attack of nearly 90,000 cavalry of our two-way coalition army, Yuan Benchu, who is at a disadvantage, must have a headache, from the reaction speed and messy formation of the enemy in front of us, it can be seen that the Yuan army has not formed a consistent response strategy, it seems that it is just as you said." This battle cannot be fought today. ”

Zhang He turned to the two lieutenants behind him to convey the order to collect the troops and return to the camp, and then patted the horse close to Fu Min, who was frowning and looking ahead, the two muttered a few words and dismounted, and after squatting, they slashed on the mud ground with their daggers.

After a long time, Zhang He raised his head solemnly: "Do you really want to do it?" ”

Fu Min smiled slightly, his face was full of confidence: "Even if the Yuan army is prepared, we must take the initiative to attack, as long as we don't send foot soldiers, use the speed of the cavalry to harass the Yuan army's camp all night, and lean on if we seize the opportunity." Shoot a few rounds of new rockets and come back immediately, which will definitely toss Yuan Jun half to death. ”

"Do you want to emulate the siege strategy proposed by the lord in the Battle of Fanyang?" Zhang He reacted quickly. Accurately guessed Fu Min's thoughts.

Fu Min smiled: "Exactly, don't you think it's good to do it again?" ”

Zhang He thought about it and smiled: "In this way, you can better contain the main force of the Yuan army, so that it cannot easily withdraw to help...... As long as we can hold off Yuan Benchu's main force here for three days, this mission will be half completed, maybe in less than three days, the lord and General Ziyi will even take Yecheng. ”

"Not necessarily...... The defense of Yecheng is second only to our Jinan New Town, and there are nearly 10,000 elites left behind by Yuan Shao, I'm afraid it's not very easy to fight! Let's think of more ways to drag the main force of the Yuan army in front of us for as long as possible, and it is best to hold them down for more than five days. ”

Fu Min was quite worried about the progress of the middle road, and the lord handed over the two divisions with the strongest combat power and the best equipment in the Qingzhou Army to himself and Zhang He, resulting in only one veteran of the three divisions dispatched in the middle road, and the other two divisions were all newly formed divisions.

If the Central Route Army could not take Yuan Shao's hometown Yecheng within five days, the entire battle situation would immediately change dramatically, and the initiative would no longer be in their own hands.

After hearing this, Zhang He knew what the thoughtful Fu Min was worried about, and said confidently with a smile: "Don't forget the 'Thunderbolt Battalion' that has been deployed to each division, and when I tested the power of the newly equipped weapons on the beach three days ago, I found out that the secret weapon that had been circulating in the army for two years was so terrifying......

Speaking of this, a flush appeared on Zhang He's face, "Especially those medicine bags that can blow the ground out of a pit of several feet, the power is far beyond imagination, like a thunderstorm in the sky, the loud sound shook my ears, my heart and lungs rolled upside down, and many old brothers who never blinked when they went into battle to kill the enemy were so frightened that they fell to the ground to pee, haha!" ”

"With such a sharp weapon in hand, how can there be a city in the world that cannot be attacked? You can rest assured, the middle route army will be able to take Yecheng quickly. ”

Fu Min immediately remembered the astonishing effect of the "Thunderbolt Battalion" that had secretly deployed the headquarters three days ago, as well as the astonishing effect of the 1,000 young officers and men of the "Thunderbolt Battalion" taking turns to conduct a demonstration of rockets, thunderbolts, and gunpowder in front of him, Zhang He, and more than 2,000 officers at all levels, and his worried mood could not help but relax:

"I was so scared that my legs trembled, haha! It's not as good as this, when we attack the camp at midnight, throw a few thunderbolts into the camp of the Yuan army, as long as the sound of thunder explodes, I'm afraid that even Yuan Shao in the city won't be able to sleep. ”

"I don't think there's a need to go too many people, just send out a scout team...... Let's sleep well, sleep well and eat well, and then go out to challenge tomorrow morning, haha! ”

After Zhang He finished speaking, he laughed, stood up with Fu Min, who was overjoyed, mounted his horse, and turned back to the rapidly forming camp with great ease, and walked around the camp to inspect the progress of the fortifications, and no one noticed the changes that were taking place in the camp of the Yuan army, which was five miles to the west.

On the plain five miles outside the east gate of the river, people are neighing and the battle flag is like a forest.

The 30,000 infantry soldiers of the Yuan army wearing yellow robes had already finished the formation at this time, and from south to north, the fifteen sword and gun arrays and six crossbow arrays arranged in two rows began to exude a strong murderous aura, and the more than 10,000 cavalry arranged on the two wings all dismounted and began to nervously check the weapons and equipment and the drape of the war horses.

Elite scouts travel back and forth across the vast wasteland between friend and foe. The heralds carrying the command flag continued to ride their horses and swept in front of the slaughtering arrays, loudly conveying the battle orders issued by the Chinese army.

Eighteen strong drummers stood bare-chested behind the drums, and one after another huge battle flags kept rolling and waving under the strong wind of late autumn.

Yuan Shao on the stage looked solemn, and more than a dozen confidants around him looked at the Qingzhou Army in the east that had already collected troops and returned to the camp, and some looked up at the sun that was gradually moving west, and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Tian Feng, who was in a heavy mood, saw that Yuan Shao had not made a decision for a long time, and his face was getting worse and worse, so he had to take a half step forward and persuade in a low voice:

"Lord, the enemy army has already collected its troops, it seems that they are unwilling to fight a decisive battle with our army, if our army moves forward to take the initiative, I am afraid that there is not enough time, it is better to camp for the time being."

Yuan Shao had no choice but to send an order to camp in place, but he did not have the slightest intention of returning to the marshal's mansion in the city, but pointed to the dusty Qingzhou army camp in front of him, and asked everyone: "Who can tell me that the 50,000 Qingzhou army on the opposite side was in array for half a day but suddenly withdrew its troops, what do you want to do?" ”

Everyone knows that it will be dark in another hour at most, and if the division comes forward to engage the enemy, it will take at least half an hour from the order to the movement of more than 40,000 troops, and in order to maintain the formation, every hundred steps must be stopped slightly, and the team will be quickly formed, and when the distance of three or five miles is completed, I am afraid that it will be dark, how can we fight?

At this time, all the civil and military officers knew that what the lord Yuan Shao was asking was not the Qingzhou army in front, but the entire huge and complex battle situation that was rapidly changing in the blink of an eye.

However, what made all the civil and military forces sad was that although they all realized that the whole battle situation was becoming more and more complicated, and the sudden attack of the Youzhou Army and the Qingzhou Army had completely lost the initiative on their side, and it seemed that there was a crisis everywhere, but no one knew how to quickly strive for the initiative, and no one could see where the hidden crisis was.

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PS: Cold and fever, this chapter is written a little reluctantly! Thank you cavenm, Yuan Boren, and the big monthly pass! Juhuo continues to ask for subscriptions, monthly passes, and full praise support! Appreciate! (To be continued......)