Last night, Pan Zhong's troops were defeated and captured, thousands of soldiers and horses under his command were killed and wounded, and the rest of the people surrendered, only a few hundred soldiers escaped with their lives and rushed back to the city of Juzhou. After hearing the bad news of the annihilation of Pan Zhong's entire army, Yang Song, the commander of the capital, was shocked and ordered his 5,000 troops and horses to strictly defend Yanzhou.

Seeing that the defenders could not hold out strictly, he had a stubborn posture of resisting the city, so he immediately called the general Zhang Yu and ordered him to lead two thousand cavalry to garrison outside the city and trap Yang Song, but he had to lead the rest of the Yanshan army and horses to rush to the Hutuo River.

Zhang Yu clenched his fists and bowed down and said: "Your Highness's daughter's body is in danger for no reason, why don't you lead the army to the Hutuo River by the last general and give the old Geng Bingwen a blow to the head." He said this, but he secretly smiled bitterly in his heart: Your Highness takes the lead every time, although it can boost the morale of the whole army, but it is an adventure, you must know that the morale of our army is all gathered in His Highness, and the battle between the two armies is dangerous and abnormal, if there is an accident, will we wait for the Yan army to disperse in a hurry?

When Zhu Di heard this, he shook his head with a smile, and stubbornly asked Zhang Yu to be responsible for trapping Yang Song, who was defending the city, and rode away with a sweaty BMW and led his 16,000 Yanshan escort cavalry to gallop away. He knew in his heart that Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen had followed his father Zhu Yuanzhang through battles in the past, although he was far from being able to compare with Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and other generals, but he also made great achievements and made it difficult for Zhang Shicheng's army to advance with his ten years of guarding Changxing City. Such an old-fashioned, but not necessarily mediocre battlefield veteran may not be easy. Although Zhang Yu is brave and unmatched, after all, he is young and vigorous and not calm enough, he still leads the army by himself, and it is safe to act when he sees the opportunity. ”“

On the wide surface of the Hutuo River, the ant-like soldiers slowly crossed the river along several makeshift pontoon bridges, and after stepping on the opposite bank with their feet on the opposite bank, they hurried forward under the reprimand of thousands of households, cutting wood in the woods and setting up a camp in Lupan.

On the slightly higher hillside on the south bank, Sheng Yong was commanded to walk to the side of Geng Bingwen, who was gray-haired and wearing armor, and said: "At present, the soldiers and horses under the command of the right deputy general have crossed the river close to 20,000. ”

Geng Bingwen looked at the crowded and noisy river crossing scene on the river, bowed his head slightly and did not speak.

"In your opinion, is it too dangerous for the old man to lead the army across the river in a hurry when the enemy situation is unclear at this time?" Geng Bingwen was silent for a moment and then suddenly sighed softly and said so. It turned out that Pan Zhong, who was stationed in Juzhou last night, heard that after the Yan army attacked Xiongxian at night, he transferred troops to reinforce on the one hand, and sent people to send a letter overnight to inform the general of the conquest, so Geng Bingwen and Sheng Yong had already learned about it.

Sheng Yong bowed down with a slight groan: "Although the distance from Juzhou to this point is not close, the terrain can be described as flat all the way, which is especially conducive to cavalry attacks. The last general's worry is that Yan Rebellion Zhu Di once went to the cavalry to go out of the fortress and surrendered to the remnants of the Tartars of the Nerbu Division, but he was afraid that he would not sit idly by and watch such a situation. ”

Hearing this, Geng Bingwen suddenly turned his head to look at Sheng Yong, frowned, and said: "Xiongxian is an insignificant place, even if it is occupied by Yan Rebellion, it will not be able to hold on, Pan Zhong takes into account that this battle is the first confrontation between the imperial court army and the rebellion, if you sit back and watch the loss of Xiongxian County, it will inevitably fall into the morale of the army, and go alone in the dark night, I am afraid that it will be more than auspicious at this time." Speaking of this, he couldn't help but slowly shook his head and said: "If His Majesty the former emperor Hongwu commands the suppression of the rebellion, the old man will definitely hold the south bank of the Hutuo River under the unclear enemy situation, and then make plans after the imperial court increases the army, but unfortunately this time is different from the past." "It turns out that although the rebel army led by Geng Bingwen this time claims to be 300,000, it is actually only more than 180,000, and all of them are foot soldiers, and there is no elite cavalry like the Yanshan guard, and Zhu Di, who has 100,000 troops, has no absolute superiority in strength. When Geng Bingwen commanded the army, he had repeatedly asked His Majesty the Emperor to mobilize the follow-up army and grain and grass for reinforcements.

When Sheng Yong heard this, he recalled that when the army went out, His Majesty the Emperor asked the generals to quickly exterminate the rebellion, and three days ago, there was a holy decree from Yingtian from afar to ask about the details of the war. In the past, he had also followed the Liangguo Gong Lan Yu expedition to catch the fishing sea, and recalled in his mind that when the 150,000 troops of the commander of Lan Yu were stationed in Daning, and within a few months, His Majesty Emperor Hongwu did not have a holy decree to urge Lan Yu to enter the army, and suddenly felt the pressure that Changxing Hou, who was more than a year old in front of him, was facing as the commander of an army, and understood the meaning of his words.

Outside Lixu on the north bank of the Hutuo River, 16,000 Yanshan escort cavalry slowly rode in under the leadership of Zhu Di to recover the leg strength lost after galloping all the way. Looking at the chaotic camp of the Southern army on the side of the river bank ahead, I heard that most of the enemy troops who seemed to be close to check were still on the opposite bank, only a small half had already crossed the river, and the camp was not strong. Zhu Di couldn't help but be overjoyed, and pulled out the three-foot long sword on the side of the saddle to order the troops to attack. The Yanshan escort cavalry rode forward under the leadership of their respective thousands and hundreds of households, like a surging torrent that gradually accelerated, rushing towards the enemy camp on the shore.

Geng Bingwen, who was in Changxing on the high ground on the south bank, heard the scout who was exploring the road ahead replied, saying that he had found that the cavalry of the Yan army was coming, and he saw the dust gradually rising in the distance, and he already knew that something was wrong under the sudden change of color, and hurriedly ordered the deputy on the other bank, the right deputy general, to supervise Ningzhong, and asked him to lead the army to defend on the spot.

At this time, the soldiers and generals of the southern army who crossed the river and came to the north bank also had 20,000 people, and saw the enemy cavalry in front of them sweeping like a flood. However, many people were already exhausted and out of breath when they built the defense, and in a hurry, they could not fully open their heavy step bows, and the arrows that flew out in a hurry were even more crooked, and they didn't know where they flew.

A few hundred steps away from the camp of the southern army, the cavalry of the Yan army galloped under the personal leadership of Zhu Di and scattered, like a flood, overwhelming, rushing towards the enemy's camp. The scattered formation greatly reduced the casualties under the arrows that flew in mid-air, and occasionally a knight was pierced by the arrow, and the scream of falling from the horse's back disappeared in an instant in the rushing torrent.

Zhu Di, who was sitting on a sweaty and bloody BMW, saw that the enemy's panicked face was vaguely visible, and he secretly said that he was lucky. If it had come two hours later, and the imperial army had crossed the river more than 10,000 times, and the camp had been built a little stronger, he would not dare to forcibly attack the enemy camp with only 16,000 men and horses.

Geng Bingwen, who stopped at the height of Changxing on the south bank, looked at the smoke and dust on the opposite bank, and the Yanshan escort cavalry crossed the sparse camp wooden fence and deer pan, as if destroying the withering and decaying, rushing into the camp of his own army like a soup pouring snow, and launched a ruthless killing, his wrinkled face couldn't help but be full of miserable feelings, and his heart was like a knife, and he secretly thought: It seems that not only His Majesty the Emperor, but also the old man underestimated Zhu Di. The reason why he ordered thousands of troops to cross the river was that in addition to being forced by the pressure of the imperial court, he also thought that even if the defenders of Xiongxian County and Pan Zhong's troops were all wiped out, Zhu Di would not be able to conquer the Yanzhou garrisoned by Yang Song in a hurry.

There were still more than 100,000 imperial army on the south bank, and seeing the tragic situation of their comrades on the other side, blocked by the river, but they were powerless, so they immediately rushed to Geng Bingwen, who was walking down the hill, by the brave generals, and asked to lead the army across the river to support.

Geng Bingwen reprimanded with a calm face: "How many military horses can you take to cross the river in a hurry?" Five thousand or ten thousand? Strictly guard the riverbank, and if anyone leads the army to cross the river without authorization, he will not be spared. He had been in battle for a long time, and at this time, he saw that Zhu Di came with a cavalry surprise attack and beat himself a half, and he knew in his heart that the defeat was like a mountain, and it was not manpower that could be recovered.

The right deputy general of the Southern Army, Du Du Ningzhong, could not create a miracle like Han Xin, and Zhu Di would not give anyone the opportunity to create a miracle in front of him. However, at tea time, the southern army on the other side of the river had been killed by Zhu Di's wolf-like cavalry, and countless non-commissioned officers and colonels turned around and rushed towards the pontoon bridge erected on the river.

Geng Bingwen saw that the army was defeated and demoralized, so he ordered the pontoon bridge on the river to be burned, and led the army to retreat to Zhending.

Zhu Di, who was looking across the river, saw that the pontoon bridge was destroyed, so he immediately ordered his troops to gather the soldiers and generals who had surrendered.

A few days later, Zhu Neng, the general of the Yan army, led 70,000 foot soldiers to conquer Juzhou, and the southern army commanded Yang Songli to fight and die. The Yan army marched to the Hutuo River, joined forces with Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and after crossing the river, he took the power of a great victory, and went straight to Changxing to wait for Geng Bingwen to come to Zhending City.

Geng Bingwen knew that the morale of the Yan army was high under the great victory, and he allowed the enemy army to insult and invite the battle in every way, and he also strictly ordered the army not to go out and defend the city to the death. After Zhu Di gave an order, under the wielding of Zhu Neng's sword, countless Yan soldiers rushed forward and followed the ladder ants. Helplessly, the city wall is tall and solid, and Geng Bingwen has been guarding Changxing City for ten years, and he has rich experience in defending the city.

Zhu Di saw that Geng Bingwen relied on the heavy troops of the fortified city and could not defend it with sufficient food, grass and equipment, and he was helpless against him, so he led the army to retreat on the second day, in a vain attempt to induce the enemy to pursue and then raid with the Yanshan escort cavalry ambushed in the nearby valley, but Geng Bingwen was unmoved and still held out.

Zhu Di had no choice but to lead the army to retreat across Hutuo and return to the north. The generals of the Yan army were unwilling to win consecutive battles, but Zhu Di knew that although he had defeated Geng Bingwen at the moment, his troops were still weak compared to the imperial court, Zhu Yunwen had lost tens of thousands of horses and horses, and he only had more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and he was defeated. didn't dare to fight a war of attrition with the other party, so he led the army back to Juzhou at the moment, appeased the generals and soldiers of the Southern Army who surrendered, and turned them into his own military strength.

Zhending the head of the city, Changxing waited for Geng Bingwen to stroll above the city, seeing the morale of the generals and soldiers, he turned his head to the commander Sheng Yong and said in a deep voice: "This defeat of the army, the old man can not escape the blame, so he will play His Majesty to ask for guilt." ”

When Sheng Yong heard this, he recalled that the imperial army was defeated by Zhu Di, and he felt that it was difficult to say a word in his heart, and sighed after a moment of silence: "From the point of view of the last general, this defeat is not the fault of the old general alone. When he said this, he thought in his heart: When the counterinsurgency army set out, I thought that most of the rebels under Zhu Di's command originally belonged to the imperial army, and the army was unstable and cramped, so there was no need to worry. It can be seen that the key to this defeat lies in the desire of the emperor, the lords in the court, and then the generals in the army to underestimate Zhu Di.

Geng Bingwen stretched out his hand and slapped the head of the city hard, and said with a miserable expression: "The victory and defeat have been divided, what can the husband say." ”

About half an hour later, Geng Bingwen returned to the official office where he lived, and instructed his soldiers to take the four treasures of the study, and write down the plea for the battle. He was supposed to recommend Sheng Yong to replace him as the general of the conquest and command the army to quell the rebellion, but after thinking about it again and again, he gave up. In addition, he repaired the book and the military department Shangshu Qitai, explaining his intention to recommend Sheng Yong. It turned out that he was full of sophistication, and he knew that his defeat would inevitably provoke the anger of His Majesty the Emperor, and it was natural for him to die if he was convicted.

The Forbidden City under the cover of night, in the imperial study. The young Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen's eyes swept over the desk and looked at it carefully, from the general of the conquest, Changxing waited for Geng Bingwen's book, from the 800 miles of military intelligence sent to the Beijing Division, his heart was full of anger, it was really difficult to suppress, he waved his hand and threw the letter to the ground, and said angrily: "Geng Bingwen lost his division and humiliated the country, and lost his troops and lost the city and land, and his crime is really difficult to forgive." ”

In the middle of the night, Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, who was urgently summoned by the emperor to the palace for discussion, recalled that Geng Bingwen wrote to him that the imperial army had lost Xiong County and the two cities of Juzhou. All commanded Pan Zhong to lead the army to aid Xiongxian Zhongfu, was defeated and captured, and died unyieldingly, all commanded Yang Song to die in battle after the city of Juzhou was broken, the right deputy general of the counterinsurgency army, Du Governor Ningzhong, all commanded Gu Cheng to die on the north bank of the Hutuo River, and the army under Geng Bingwen suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and was forced to retreat to Baozhen Dingcheng. I couldn't help but feel terrified in my heart, and knelt on the ground and played: "Weichen, as the secretary of the military department, recommended people improperly, resulting in the defeat of the counterinsurgency army in the first battle, and he is really guilty of negligence, please surrender your majesty." ”

At this time, seeing the other party lying on the ground and pleading guilty, recalling that this military secretary was loyal to him, after a long sigh, half of the anger in his chest disappeared unconsciously, and after a little groaning, he said in a deep voice: "Changxing waited for Geng Bingwen's army to lose his land, humiliated the imperial court, removed him from the post of general and reduced to the common people. Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Qi Tai, who was kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice: "I will punish you for a year to punish people for their misdeeds, you get up."

Huang Zicheng, who was born with three long beards under his chin and was quite handsome, stretched out his hand to help Qi Tai stand up, turned to Zhu Yunwen and bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, as Wei Chen can see, the top priority at the moment is to transfer someone else to replace Geng Bingwen, and command Wang Shi to exterminate Yan and Zhu Di. ”

Zhu Yunwen paced back and forth in front of the desk, frowned and asked, "Based on what the two Aiqing have seen, who can lead the soldiers and horses and wipe out the rebellion in one fell swoop?" ”