The sky gradually brightened, Meng Qi ghost finally saw the situation on the other side of the river, the pontoon bridge on the river has been completely burned, only a little scorched wreckage is piled up on the bank, the other side of the river is deserted, there is no figure in sight, the city gate is closed in the distance, and the banner of King Peng still stands on the head of the city.

"General, there are no enemy troops on the other side!" A subordinate general whispered to Meng Qi.

Meng Ghost shook his head, "There must be enemy troops hidden, otherwise the defenders of the city will definitely come to the shore to meet us." ”

His gaze looked around, and finally landed in a forest in the northwest direction, which was the only place on the other side that could hide, and the Sui army should be in that wood, and he sneered in his heart, how many troops can there be in a small forest.

Meng Qigui immediately shouted: "Pass my order and build a pontoon bridge immediately!" ”

Several armies immediately scattered to cut down trees, Surabaya is about dozens of zhang wide, much narrower than the Huai River, and the water flow is stable, there are no riptide whirlpools in the water, so it is not difficult to build a temporary pontoon bridge, as long as more than 100 large rafts are connected, a temporary pontoon bridge can be built.

Although this kind of raft pontoon bridge is not strong enough to carry a heavy wagon, ordinary soldiers can quickly run across the river, and Meng Qigui does not need to cross the river with a baggage, as long as he can absolutely control Xiapi County, he can control the entire territory of Xiapi County.

Meng Qi also knew in his heart that his brother was fighting fiercely with Yang Yichen in Pengcheng County, and once Zhang Xuan's army entered Pengcheng County, the consequences would be unimaginable, and he must stop Zhang Xuan in Xiapi County at all costs, and even drive him out of Xiapi County.

At this moment, several cavalry galloped from the south, they turned over and dismounted, stumbled and rushed to report, "General, the main force of the Sui army has been found ten miles to the south. About 10,000 people. ”

Meng Qigui frowned, the main force of the Sui army finally came, and he asked casually: "Is it the east bank or the west bank of the river?" ”

"General Huiyu, like us, is on the west bank of Surabaya!"

Meng Ghost's face changed drastically, and he was stunned. The Sui army was not on the east bank, but on the west bank, only ten miles away, wouldn't it be killed soon?

Meng Qi Ghost was suddenly in a hurry, and shouted: "Stop building the pontoon bridge, and the whole army will assemble immediately!" ”

Meng Qigui suddenly realized that Sui Jun was going to fight a decisive battle with him, and he was both nervous and excited in his heart. is more of an expectation, he has an army of 30,000, three times the Sui army, can he defeat Zhang Xuan's mighty army in one battle?

Half an hour later, an army of 30,000 thieves appeared in the boundless wilderness and confronted 14,000 Sui troops miles away.

When the Sui army was arrayed, the army of thieves in the distance also appeared, and they had no formation. The black pressure is overwhelming, and there are more than 30,000 people. There were thousands of horsemen among them, and they were mixed together, with mottled uniforms and various weapons, and it was difficult to distinguish whether they were ordinary peasants or thieves.

Zhang Xuan secretly sneered in his heart. This kind of rabble also wants to compete with themselves, and this Meng Ghost is really fascinated by **.

Of course, Zhang Xuan decided to fight a decisive battle with the thieves after getting enough information, he had 14,000 men, and the enemy army was only twice as large as himself, but his soldiers were extremely combative. Equipped with superb equipment, even if it is one to three, they are not afraid.

The key is that as long as he can defeat this 30,000-strong thief army, not only can he occupy the entire territory of Xiapi, but there will be no troops to defend west of Pengcheng County, he can drive straight into Pengcheng County and join forces with Yang Yichen to suppress Meng Haigong's rebellion.

"General, there are still cavalry in the thief army?"

Luo Shixin smiled disdainfully: "I'm afraid they even have mules and donkeys in battle!" ”

Zhang Xuan didn't reprimand him this time, just shook his head and said lightly: "Don't be careless, beware of the enemy army using this posture to confuse us!" ”

He ordered again: "Send an order to Pei Xingyan to prepare to attack the thief army from behind." ”

A few eagles immediately flew up in the Sui army, flapping their wings and flying to the east, Pei Xingyan was in the north of Xiapi County, and Zhang Xuan's main force was more than 20 miles apart, they were connected with the letter eagle, Pei Xingyan should be able to find a second pontoon bridge in the north, and attack the thief army from behind at the speed of cavalry.

"Woo! ~~" The horn sounded suddenly, and the thieves and soldiers three miles away started, only to see thousands of people screaming and riding horses to rush to this side, they were not fast, getting closer and closer, Zhang Xuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, he saw clearly, the people who rushed to the front turned out to be more than a thousand old and weak women and children.

Thousands of thieves have run hundreds of steps away, their figures are a little different, and their voices are also extremely frightened, Zhang Xuan has seen clearly, the more than 2,000 thief cavalry running in front are all old and weak women, they are forced to ride on mules or donkeys, and are surrounded by the cavalry behind to charge.

Zhang Xuan's mind couldn't help but have a grim smile on the face of the thief army commander, maybe this is his strange soldier! Use women and old men to meet the Sui army's arrow array.

At this time, all the soldiers of the Sui army looked at Zhang Xuan, whether these old and weak women should be killed or not? Zhang Xuan squinted his eyes and looked at the sky, the sky had changed, it was cloudy just now, and at this moment it was already dark clouds rolling, a stream of flying sand and rocks in front of the formation, sand and dust filled the air, and a downpour was coming.

A grim smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth, he was laughing at the enemy army commander cocooning himself, he could have had a chance to fight with the Sui army, but the other party wrapped so many civilians in the army, no matter who this thief army leader was, he also underestimated himself too much, would he Zhang Xuan be bound by the old and weak women?

"Get ready to attack!"

Jang Hyun gave the first order in a low voice.

The five thousand crossbowmen in front of the team stepped forward, and the five thousand swarthy crossbows pointed into the air, and the killing machine condensed on the rapid crossbow, and the long knives of the Sui army on the left and right wings on both sides were like a forest, waiting for the moment of explosion.

Chi Gong, the general of the left wing, and Luo Shixin, the general of the right wing, each led 4,000 troops, accumulating strength, and they were already impatient.

The old and the weak and the women got closer and closer, and they could already be seen waving their hands in panic to show the Sui army that they had no weapons, these old people and women were nearby villagers, they had lived peacefully for generations, and they had never experienced the cruelty of war as much as today, and never before they were so close to death as they were at this moment.

They didn't even realize that they had become the scapegoats of the thief army, and they didn't expect that they were followed by thousands of thief cavalry, they just wanted to escape from death, run desperately, and run closer and closer. It was less than a hundred steps away from the Sui army and entered the killing range of the crossbow arrows.

At this time, some of the old people in the back were already somewhat aware of the danger, and they began to restrain their livestock and try to turn around and escape, but they were forced by the fierce thief soldiers to continue with their spears.

Behind the ranks of the thieves, Meng Qigui smiled a little smugly. Doesn't that Jang Hyun boast that he loves the people like a son? Can they kill these old and weak women and children? If they hesitated, the women, children, and old men would disrupt their position, and his cavalry would be able to enter the ranks of the Sui army.

"One hundred more steps, ready for an assault!"

Meng Qigui had just given the order, and there was a sudden chaos in front of him, and the Sui army's arrow array broke out, and thousands of crossbow arrows were shot at the rushing crowd of old and weak women, screaming everywhere, these old men and women had no sense of defense. In a matter of moments, hundreds of people fell from their horses, and their hooves stepped over them, and their flesh and blood were blurred.

The old men and women were terrified and turned around to flee for their lives, when a bean-sized raindrop crackled and fell, and an unexpected heavy rain swept across the vast field. The Sui army's crossbow arrows could not be used.

"Attack on both wings!"

Zhang Xuan shouted loudly, and the drum rumbled. The two wings of 8,000 troops were suddenly launched, and the 8,000 elite Sui troops swooped towards the thief army with great momentum, they were well-trained, their morale was high, and their murderous spirit was high, and they instantly broke the chaotic position of the thief army into a big hole. The pouring rain came suddenly, the rain and fog were filled, the visibility was drastically reduced, and the bandit army was even more chaotic.

Although the total number of thieves was still 15,000 more than the Sui army, the thousands of civilians they captured could not stop the Sui army from attacking. Instead, it dragged down the formation of the thief army, and when the Sui army's arrows were mercilessly fired at the rushing old men and women, these civilians, who had never been in battle, were terrified by the Sui army's ruthless killing.

Death and bloodshed frightened the old men and women who rushed in, they turned their livestock to flee for their lives, and the thieves behind couldn't stop their panic from fleeing, and their confusion also disrupted the formation of the thieves behind them, and before the Sui army could be fully killed, the formation of the thieves was already in chaos.

At this time, Meng Qi Ghost was full of regret in his heart, he realized that he had made a huge mistake, God had given him the opportunity to win, but he let it go in vain, he didn't even notice that the weather was about to change, the Sui army's bow and crossbow could not shoot in the rain, if he didn't bring these civilians, if he suddenly launched an attack after the heavy rain, there was no threat from the bow and crossbow army, with the absolute superiority of his troops, who would kill the deer, it was not yet known!

Meng Qi did not seize the opportunity of heavy rain from the sky, but Zhang Xuan seized the opportunity of the chaos of the thief army, and ordered the whole army to cover up, and Wei Chigong led a sharp spear army to take the lead in the formation of the thief army.

At this moment, a loud horn suddenly sounded from the north, and Pei Xingyan led the cavalry of the Sui army to pierce the back of the thief army like a sharp sword, and the rear army of the thief army also began to be chaotic.

Meng Ghost never dreamed that his army would be so unbearable, they could not withstand the attack of a heavy rain, in the heavy rain, the will to fight of his soldiers began to collapse rapidly, and an atmosphere of fear enveloped the soldiers, and everywhere they saw soldiers who had lost their armor.

Meng Qi killed more than a dozen people in a row, his voice was hoarse, and there was still no effect, and even his own soldiers slipped away quietly.

At this time, the thief army is facing the unfavorable situation of suffering from the enemy on the belly and back, and it is even more fatal to be chaotic, in the pouring rain, the crying, the crying and the vast rain and fog are connected, the soldiers and civilians are mixed together, and the women and children are fighting for their lives, and the soldiers will not be able to find the soldiers, the soldiers will not be able to find the generals, and the defeat of the thief army has been decided.

Seeing that the general trend has gone, Meng Qi Ghost had no choice but to order a breakthrough, it was originally an expected battle, but in the end it evolved into a unilateral pursuit and slaughter without suspense, corpses are all over the field, blood is flowing like a river, there are stumps and broken arms everywhere, in the strangulation and pursuit of the Sui army, 30,000 thieves suffered heavy casualties, and Meng Qi only escaped with less than 3,000 people.

Eight thousand thieves were killed, more than nineteen thousand were taken prisoner, most of the civilians they captured and rushed into battle were killed or wounded, and the field was full of cries and pleadings.

The autumn rain in September came and went quickly, and the downpour soon turned into a drizzle, and the fine and dense needle-like rain washed away the blood stains on the field, Zhang Xuan immediately stood on a high hill, and watched coldly as the Sui army cleaned up the battlefield and healed the surviving and wounded people.

At this time, a messenger came from a distance and said in a loud voice: "General, this is a handwritten letter from Marshal Yang to the general. ”

It turned out to be Yang Yichen's letter, Zhang Xuan hurriedly opened it and took a closer look, and the letter said that Chen Haishi's army successfully intercepted a 5,000-strong thief army in Teng County and defeated it.

The battle that broke out in the area of Xiao County has entered a critical moment, and the two sides have suffered heavy losses, with the thief army being annihilated by more than 40,000 people, and the 30,000 Sui army losing more than 10,000 people.

Now that both sides of the battle in Pengcheng County are almost unable to hold on, Yang Yichen hopes that Zhang Xuan can immediately enter Pengcheng County and attack Meng Haigong before and after.

This is actually a letter from Yang Yichen asking for help, but at the end of the letter, Yang Yichen implicitly reminded Zhang Xuan that Meng Haigong's rebellion may not be accidental.

Zhang Xuan read the letter twice, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought, he remembered Fang Xuanling's bold speculation, the Son of Heaven knew that the Menghai Guild was rebelling, and deliberately wanted to transfer him, and the Son of Heaven's move actually had deeper intentions.

If Yang Guang knew that the Menghai Guild had rebelled, why didn't he deploy any troops in the Xuzhou and Qingzhou areas?

You must know that Xuzhou is Yang Yichen's sphere of influence, and Qingzhou is the place where he Zhang Xuan started, does the Son of Heaven want to borrow the hand of Meng Haigong.........

[Last night's Chinese New Year's Eve, Lao Gao only coded one chapter, apologize to everyone, today can only update one chapter] (To be continued.) )