Li Heng ordered the mobilization of the Longxiang army under the command of Yu Chaoen from Tongguan to Puzhou, which had only more than 2,000 people at the beginning of the creation of Li Chongyun, and after several years of continuous expansion, it eventually became a large army of 30,000 troops.

After Yu Chaoen received the emperor's will, he was not very happy, because although he was now in Tongguan with Guo Ziyi as the main leader, the emperor appointed him as the deputy marshal at the same time, so their relationship was on an equal footing. But now the holy decree that he was transferred to Puzhou said that he would completely accept the leadership of Li Guangbi, which was really unbearable.

Everyone is a courtier of the Tang Dynasty, why should Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi be above him, is it because he is a eunuch?

The emperor also appointed Ma Pho as his lieutenant. Ma Phosphorus was originally the deputy envoy of the Anxi camp, but after the envoy Feng Changqing was unjustly killed by the emperor, the Anxi army, which was short of troops, was scattered.

Li Fuguo, who was in charge of the government, had no intention of appointing a new Jiedu envoy, and because the Anxi Army was inextricably linked with Li Siye, he simply canceled the post of the Jiedu envoy of the Anxi Xingying Battalion, and the various departments of the Anxi Army were also dismantled and distributed to the various armies.

Now that the eunuchs are in power, being able to succumb to the eunuchs is also a good means of self-preservation.

The two of them led the army out of Tongguan and went upstream along the Yellow River to Pujin. Originally, it was also a good choice to cross the river east from the Fengling of Tongguan, but the Fenglingdu was backed by the Zhongtiao Mountain Range, and the mountain road was more difficult to travel than here, and the pontoon bridge built by Pujindu was the largest bridge in the upper reaches of the entire Yellow River, and the 30,000 troops crossing the bridge were always faster than the ferry.

From the time of receiving the holy decree to the rectification and departure, the army marched for a total of three and a half days before finally reaching the Pujin Ferry. Yu Chaoen looked at the other side of the Yellow River with a dust in his hand, and saw that a battle seemed to be going on on the river beach, and a faint high-pitched shout of killing penetrated the river bank and came to this side.

He trembled his lips and said in surprise: "I didn't expect the progress of the Hexi Army to be so fast, they have already occupied the entire Puzhou, and our army is still a step slower after all." ”

Ma Phosphorus hurriedly said to him: "Envoy Yuzhong, the Zhaoyi Army is fighting against the Hexi Army on the other side of the Yellow River, and I see that this pontoon bridge is still in our hands." Please ask the lieutenant envoy to give an order, I am willing to personally lead the right army to cross the river from the pontoon bridge to rescue the Zhaoyi army. ”

"You don't miscalculate the situation." Yu Chaoen glared at him and said, "Right now, the Hexi army is in full swing, and the Zhaoyi army has been defeated several times. Now there are only 10,000 people left in Guanzhong and Tongguan, and they must not be buried here in vain. ”

"How can this be buried for nothing?" Ma Fu hurriedly almost burst out foul language: "General Lieutenant Envoy, the Yellow River alone cannot stop the enemy's army, and only when Puzhou on the other side is in our hands can Guanzhong really be safe." Now that the Zhaoyi army is still holding on to resist the enemy on the other side, and the enemy's situation is unknown, even if the fearful side should first send a soldier and horse to find out the truth and then help. ”

Yu Chaoen asked him coldly, "Do you think you can fight more than me?" Do you think I still need you to teach? ”

These two imposing interrogations completely suppressed Ma Phosphorus's momentum, causing him to stand in place and bow his head and not speak.

"Our family has never fought before, but it's not that we don't understand the truth of war at all, don't you see that the Hexi Army on the other side is pressing the remaining Zhaoyi Army on the river beach, and there is no chance to counterattack? We only have 30,000 people in our hands, and we can't even spread our troops from such a narrow bridge. ”

Yu Chaoen sat down from the river beach, and suddenly felt that something was wrong, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers: "Quickly cut off the iron chain for me, and if you keep chopping, you will set fire to burn the pontoon bridge!" The Hexi Army must not be allowed to attack from the other side! ”

"What?" Ma Phosphorus almost jumped in fright when he heard this, isn't this equivalent to giving up the Tang army on the other side in vain? They are still struggling to hold on because they have seen their reinforcements from the other side, and sometimes the key to a victory depends on these spiritual strengths.

He hurriedly advised Yu Chaoen and said: "Yu Gong, there is no need to burn the pontoon bridge now, you should immediately send someone to lead the army to the rescue." ”

Yu Chaoen pointed at him and said angrily: "I have to say that you generals, all you think about yourself all day long, thinking about how to make meritorious contributions to the marquis in exchange for a wife." When have you ever thought about the saint in your eyes, you want to lead the army to help the battle, and you want to win a battle, but you have thought that once the saint's family is damaged to the other side, if the enemy chases along the pontoon bridge because of this battle, we are the sinners of Chang'an, and we are also the sinners of the saints! Come on, burn the bridge for me! ”

Ma Phosphorus decided not to persuade each other anymore, and only stood beside him with his hands on his chest without saying a word, these Long Xiang soldiers didn't care whether burning the pontoon bridge was an advantage or a disadvantage for the imperial court, they just listened to the orders from above.

Two soldiers stood on the pontoon bridge with torches, and several soldiers brought the stone grease contained in wooden barrels, and retreated to the shore while pouring oil, and Yu Chaoen personally snatched the torch from their hands, reached out and threw it on the bridge deck, and immediately rose into flames, along with the ships below. Because the wind was very strong on the river, the flames soon swirled to a height of several feet, and from a distance they were all scorching to the pain of the cheeks, and the thick black smoke turned into a hideous black dragon on the surface of the river, and like a dark cloud before the rain, it gradually dissolved and rose into the sky.

……

Li Guangbi and the remaining Tang troops held on to the Yellow River pontoon bridge, holding the tower shield in their hands to form two phalanxes, still the shield soldiers acting as defense outside, and the pikemen holding the guns on the shields. The entire formation was like a hedgehog's spike on hard armor, and the crossbowmen stood in the center and fired arrows at the rushing enemy, cooperating with each other to nervously face the cavalry charging at them from all directions.

He stood calmly in the center of the formation, with the iron ox on the beach of the Yellow River behind him, and the mission made him not retreat. He commanded hundreds of battles in his life, but never before was he so handy as he is today, with only a few hundred brothers in front of him, to his right and left, who listened to his dull thunderous shouts and commands, and the order was as nimble as his arms, and when each brother fell, a soldier would take the initiative to take over the former's responsibility.

Li Chongbao stood on the high place of the river beach on horseback in iron armor, looking at the hundred-man phalanx on the side of the Yellow River with a threatening gaze, and the three iron cavalry under his command took turns to charge these Tang troops, seeing them like Tian Heng's eight hundred heroes fighting to the death, he felt that he was the villain in this battle, or the kind that people hated.

And the other party is really a hero worthy of singing and crying, if he fails today, he will not feel wronged, defeat in the hands of Li Guangbi is worth saying, and the other party is superior to him both tactically and mentally, and now it is just a thing called the right time and place to make trouble.

"Li Sikong! How can the Tongguan reinforcements not be able to reach the river! An old soldier beside Li Guangbi asked in a loud voice after shooting the enemy cavalry off his horse.

"Don't understand? If you don't understand, keep going! ”

Under the cover of the cavalry horn bow in the rear, the Flying Tiger cavalry team constantly attacked the Tang army's formation from the side, gradually cutting down the iron bucket-like phalanx like a potato, but this could not shake the formation in the slightest, but the losses of the cavalry were gradually increasing.

Li Chongyun frowned, the casualty rate of the Tang army has exceeded thirty percent, and the casualties of the elite army in the feudal era will be defeated if it exceeds two percent, Li Guangbi and these people are really relying on one breath to support.

He looked up sharply at the other side of the Yellow River, where flames rose from the bridge deck and thick smoke filled the river.

Li Chongbao laughed unconsciously, it seems that he is not the only villain in this battle, and he has his helper in the enemy. Now the victory or defeat is decided.

"Look! What are you still holding onto? The court has abandoned you! ”

The soldiers of the Tang Army looked back, and the thick smoke over the Yellow River seemed to float in front of them, reflecting their desolate eyes.

Li Guangbi poked the horizontal knife in his hand on the ground, and said distractedly: "Victory and defeat are meaningless, those who are willing to surrender surrender, and those who are unwilling to surrender swim across the other side." ”