In the direction of South Xuzhou, after receiving Wei Ran's secret letter, Yangkan hurriedly discussed with Liu Renye, and Liu Renye said that Wei Ran was reasonable, and the current army was really not suitable for a two-front war, and the top priority was to let Hengxuan withdraw his troops from Huaiyin, and Yangkan listened to it.

Wei led his troops to Xinting, and quickly entered the city to visit the injured Zhang Gui, who saw Wei Ran coming, and hurriedly went down to salute.

Wei Ran waved his hand and said, "General Zhang doesn't need to be polite. ”

"The last general is incompetent, and he has affected the three armies, and he asks the adults to punish the crime." Zhang Guicheng said in fear, he always felt that if he was not able to defeat Yuan Tanzhi, the army would not be defeated, so he was often ashamed.

"General Zhang's words are serious, there are people outside the world, there is a sky outside the sky, and the enemy general is brave and not a crime of war. What's going on today? Wei Ran comforted Zhang Gui while asking about the current battle situation.

It turned out that since Zhang Gui was defeated and retreated to Xinting, Yuan Tanzhi led his troops to cross the Vermilion Bird Bridge to call for battle in Xinting, but because of the troops, he could not launch an attack on the city.

"If you don't drive Yuan Tanzhi away from the north bank of the Qinhuai River, you won't be able to capture Dongfu." At this time, Yuan Muzhi said loudly: "Yuan Tanzhi knows that my army has arrived, and he will definitely start to stick to the Vermilion Bird Bridge. ”

"My lord, Yuan Tanzhi is very brave, and the last general feels that your lord must not put himself in danger." Zhang Gui heard that Wei Ran planned to meet this Yuan Tanzhi in person for a while, so he hurriedly spoke out to dissuade him.

Wei Ran only smiled slightly when he heard this, and then patted Zhang Gui on the hospital bed and left without saying a word.

When Yuan Tanzhi heard that Wei Ran's army was coming, he really didn't dare to cross the Vermilion Bird Bridge, and only lined up troops on the north bank, but he still longed to fight Wei Ran head-on.

"I heard that Wei Ran was unparalleled in the world, and he didn't taste defeat in battle, I really want to meet him for a while." In the main formation, Yuan Tanzhi said with emotion, with a strong sense of battle in his eyes.

When the cronies heard this, they said: "Wei Ran is a yellow-mouthed child, how dare he compete with the general." ”

Yuan Tanzhi was slightly displeased when he heard this, he didn't like this kind of person who could only flatter.

At this moment, someone came to report: "General, the rebels have lined up on the south bank, and it seems that Wei Thief himself has led the army." ”

"Good! Good! Good! Yuan Tanzhi shouted three times in a row when he heard this, then put on his armor and rode out, and arrived at the Vermilion Bird Bridge in a short time.

"That person is Wei Ran?" Yuan Tanzhi saw a general on the south bank, dressed in silver armor and holding a spear, so he guessed that he was Wei Ran.

Wei Ran didn't say a word, so the troops began to charge, and the two sides started a fierce battle at the Vermilion Bird Bridge.

Wei Ran's department had a large number of people, and it didn't take long to occupy the advantage, Yuan Tan's heart was secretly anxious, because Yang Hu was stationed in Stone City, Yuan Tanzhi also sent more than 20,000 people to keep an eye on the direction of Stone City, so that he was even more overstretched now that his troops were already at a disadvantage.

Wei Ran also seemed to see this problem, and then asked Yuan Muzhi: "It seems that Muzhi's plan can't be done, Yuan Tan's troops are few, and he still needs to guard against the direction of Stone City, how can he resist my 100,000 army?" ”

Yuan Muzhi was also paying attention to the battle in the direction of the Vermilion Bird Bridge at this time, and then said: "If Yuan Tanzhi is defeated, he will definitely retreat to Jiankang, and the troops will still exist, and at that time, more than 100,000 troops will defend Jiankang, and the siege of the city will be quite unfavorable." ”

Yuan Muzhi was calmly analyzing the battle situation at this time, and then his eyes lit up, and he said to Wei Ran: "If our army is defeated, Yuan Tanzhi will definitely think that the Vermilion Bird Bridge can be defended, and he will definitely transfer troops from Jiankang at that time, so he might as well be defeated for a while." ”

After hearing this, Wei Ran thought secretly in his heart, and then said: "Order the soldiers to form a strong crossbow formation in the chariots on the south bank, and cover the withdrawal of troops for a while." ”

Then Wei Ran rode forward, and a silver spear rushed into the enemy's formation, pretending to be a light enemy.

Yuan Tanzhi was already very anxious, he only had an army of 50,000, and the army of 20,000 still had to keep an eye on the direction of Stone City, and the 30,000 army was already quite unfavorable to defend the Vermilion Bird Bridge, and Wei Ran's army tactics made him unable to start, and suddenly saw Wei Ran rushing into the crowd, Yuan Tanzhi felt that the opportunity had come.

But seeing Yuan Tanzhi holding a spear and a hideous face, he patted his horse and went to Wei Ran.

When Wei Ran saw that someone was killing him, he knew in his heart that it must be Yuan Tanzhi. Wei Ran adjusted his breathing, held his breath and concentrated, and when he saw Yuan Tanzhi's spear attacking, Wei Ran raised his hand to block it, and the impact force made Wei Ran suddenly retreat, and he lost the opportunity.

Yuan Tanzhi seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on Wei Ran, and Wei Ran gradually came back to his senses after the battle, and slowly moved the situation back.

"What a good opponent!" Yuan Tanzhi saw that Wei Ran had stabilized his position, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He had just taken advantage of the powerful impact of the charge to take the lead, but it didn't translate into victory

Wei Ran then became more and more courageous, gradually turning the defensive position into an offensive, the spear rolled up and down, Yuan Tanzhi resisted in all directions, and suddenly felt that the suppression was doubled.

But as Wei Ran's offensive became more and more fierce and there were more and more flaws, Yuan Tanzhi seemed to sense that the opportunity was coming, and then took the initiative to give up the opportunity to counterattack and attract Wei Ran's offensive.

Then finally, after Wei Ran stabbed out with a shot, Yuan Tanzhi seized the opportunity to turn sideways and immediately shot Wei Ran in the heart.

At this critical moment, Gao Xiaoshun slashed back the spear from the bottom to the side, relieving Wei Ran of the siege.

Wei Ran pretended to be frightened and hurriedly retreated, Yuan Muzhi hurriedly beat the drum of withdrawal, and the troops immediately retreated.

Yuan Tan hurriedly led the army to chase and kill, slashing and killing thousands of Wei Ran's army, but after seeing that the army on the south bank had already set up a battle formation, he gave up the pursuit.

The battle of Suzaku Bridge on the first day ended, and Wei Ran's army lost more than 7,000 people, half of which were caused by being chased and killed during the withdrawal.

After returning to Xinting, Wei Ran was also afraid for a while, and Xiao Ju was also quite dissatisfied when he heard everyone's description at this time.

"Between the strength of the two sides, the battlefield is dangerous, how can it be such a child's play." Xiao Ju was already furious at this time, not because of defeat, but because Wei Ran almost got away.

Yuan Muzhi was also full of shame at the moment, but Wei Ran didn't care: "When the battle was fighting, I had already asked Gao Xiaoshun to pay attention to my movements at any time. Everything is planned. ”

"Wei Di's words are wrong, if Gao Xiaoshun is entangled, what should he do today? Even if Wei Di wears heart goggles, he will inevitably be injured, and the situation will be so dangerous at that time. Xiao Ju was still angry: "Wei Di is the pillar of my dynasty, and he shouldn't take such a risk." ”

Wei Ran couldn't help but be dumbfounded, Yuan Muzhi immediately knelt down and said: "Your Majesty forgives the sin, this is the fault of the minister, and he is willing to accept the sin." ”

"Yuan Aiqing invited, it was all for the world, but after I heard about it today, I thought about it carefully, this plan is quite risky. In addition, Yuan Tan's strength is extraordinary, if he is using a deceptive strategy, Wei Di will definitely need to go all out, and it will inevitably reveal real flaws at that time, and it will be really difficult. "Xiao Ju is Mingjun in the end, and he knows that Yuan Muzhi can't be blamed for this.

"Jiankang City is high and deep, and it was originally intended to let Yuan Tanzhi win a few more battles and have greater prestige in the Jiankang rebels, and then get rid of it. Now it seems that the risk of fraud is extremely great, and Weichen suggested that he gather troops early tomorrow morning to completely capture the Suzaku Bridge, and then order the Sanwu army to attack Jingkou, and our army to attack Dongfu, and then encircle Jiankang and force Northern Qin to come to help. Yuan Muzhi hurriedly offered advice, hoping to atone for his sins.

"According to what Mu Zhi said, he sent someone to Yongshi to inform Chen Qing and ordered him to send troops to attack Jingkou." Xiao Ju nodded.

Yuan Tanzhi also felt that it was a pity when he returned to the army, he didn't take this opportunity to kill Wei Ran today, I'm afraid there will be no better chance.

He then sent the news back to Jiankang, hoping that Jiankang would increase his army to defend the Suzaku Bridge, and his intuition told him that tomorrow's battle was crucial.

Xiao Luan received the news and hurriedly summoned Yuan Huzhi: "Yuan Aiqing, General Yuan wants to transfer the Jiankang garrison to Zhuque Bridge, what does Aiqing think?" ”

Yuan Huzhi looked at his younger brother's performance, and he was also quite annoyed. Now there are more than 40,000 defenders on the Vermilion Bird Bridge, and there are no less than 100,000 Xiao Ju's army.

However, if the Jiankang garrison is sent to the Suzaku Bridge, once the battle is defeated and the troops are scattered, the big thing will be done.

After listening to Yuan Huzhi's analysis, Xiao Luan pondered for a long time, and finally made a decision not to increase his troops.