Seeing that Xu Youchang suddenly stopped talking, and the expression on his face was a little gloomy, Du Jian thought that he was caused by the pain of his injury, so he hurriedly called his soldiers and asked them to take some strong wine and pour two sips on Xu Shuai.

Xu Youchang waved his hand, stopped Du Jian, and said softly, "I'm fine...... It's okay. ”

With that, he got up and shouted, "Brothers! You see, the enemy's fleet has been repulsed, and the brothers of the 1st and 6th armies are coming! As soon as the reinforcements arrive, let's go and beat the Xuanjia Army! The Holy Tang Dynasty is in chaos in the world, it was those brutes who caused it, can you let them go? ”

"Can't!" The shore, hills, and dense forests sounded at the same time the sound of a tsunami-like response from the mountains and a tsunami.

"Can you let them go?!" Xu Youchang asked again.

"Can't! No! No! ”

The shouts shook the heavens and the earth, and even Li Jiangyao on the other side of the river could hear them clearly.

Xu Youchang shouted as if venting the frustration in his chest, then turned over and stepped onto a new war horse, waved his hand and pointed forward: "Pass my order, the whole army will form a formation!" ”

Du Jian was slightly stunned, he didn't expect Xu Shuai to be so brave, and he didn't wait for the follow-up reinforcements to arrive, so he had to take the initiative to challenge the Xuanjia Army on the opposite side. He hurriedly jumped on horseback and ordered the Second Army to assemble and prepare for battle at once.

Tens of thousands of soldiers poured out of the trenches of the defensive line and formed a formation again, and a dozen or so giant mixed phalanxes of infantry and cavalry fanned forward.

Suddenly, the Xuanjia rebels in the distance also became nervous, and hurriedly lined up to greet them.

At this time, Ye Rongcheng in the rear had also arrived here, and the main force of 100,000 plus Xie Bao's soldiers and horses formed a larger formation than the Zhenjiang Army, and it was amazing from a distance.

However, in the face of a strong enemy, Xu Youchang's face was not afraid. He asked Du Jian if he knew why he decided to attack first.

Du Jian smiled loudly: "Xu Shuai, although he is a rough man, he is not a layman in war. Ye Rongcheng led reinforcements to arrive, and soon launched an attack, once they were allowed to advance near the river bank, it would be difficult for the brothers behind to land smoothly. As before, you want to push the battlefield as far as possible to leave enough room for the First and Sixth Armies. ”

Xu Youchang nodded: "That's right. The rebels were prepared more than I had expected. Obviously, they learned in advance that we were going to cross the river, so they mobilized the main force of Xuanjia to defend, and their troops were far superior to our army. Next, we will face a tough battle, whether we can let the whole army land smoothly, and then conquer the important town of Xuancheng, depends on who is tougher and who is more ruthless on both sides. ”

-

The battle between the Zhenjiang Army and the Xuanjia Army has lasted for two full hours, and the two sides have been going back and forth on the plains seven or eight miles away from the river bank, repeatedly rushing and killing.

Although the strength of the Zhenjiang Army was less than half of that of many parties, they burst out with amazing courage and fighting spirit under the command of Xu Youchang and Du Jian. This iron army, which once swept through the western frontier and defeated the Turks, finally found a strong opponent qualified to match it on the battlefield of the Central Plains.

The soldiers and horses led by Ye Rongcheng and Xie Bao, based on the original combat strength of the Xuanjia Legion, supplemented a large number of Jiangnan Xiangyong, and after careful training, they can be called the absolute main force in the rebel battle sequence.

It can't be said to be exactly the same as the previous Xuanjia Legion, but in terms of style, playing style, system and morale, it is very close to the original Shengtang trump card.

It can be said that this battle of offense is a real chess opponent.

At this time, the sun had sunk in the west, and the battlefield was shrouded in afterglow and darkness. Countless soldiers and horses lay on the ground, surrounded by broken halberds and broken shields full of feathered arrows.

The new round of attack of the Xuanjia rebels was repelled by the Zhenjiang army, and at this time they retreated like a tide, and the tens of thousands of archers guarding in the distance bent their bows and arrows to provide cover for the retreating troops, and always guard against the counter-charge of the Zhenjiang army.

"General Ye, I think Xu Youchang can't hold it anymore!" Xie Bao's face was pale, he endured the sharp pain in his chest, gritted his teeth and said, "Just now, the fifteenth battalion almost broke through the position of the Zhenjiang Army, damn!" Good luck for the surname Xu! ”

Ye Rongcheng ignored his words, and only stared at the battlefield in front of him, carefully observing the changes in the situation.

Xie Bao was a little depressed, and said, "If you want me to say, you can launch a general attack." Taking advantage of the fact that the opposite side didn't have much strength, he simply bulldozed them at once! ”

Ye Rongcheng still didn't speak, he squinted his eyes, looked at it for a while, and suddenly shouted: "Pass my order, the twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth battalions will immediately stabilize their positions and form a blocking position, and the other departments will organize their teams and prepare to retreat!" ”

Xie Bao was stunned when he heard this, and said puzzledly: "What are you talking about?" Retreat?! ”

Ye Rongcheng pointed to the direction of the dark riverbank in the distance, and said in a deep voice: "The enemy's reinforcements are about to be assembled, and if you don't withdraw, something big will happen!" ”

With his words, in the shadow of the remnant sun, a faint dust suddenly rose from the rear of the Zhenjiang army. Looking closely, the two roads of dust and smoke, one on the left and one on the right, are surging in the east and west directions respectively, and the speed is extremely fast.

Xie Bao is also a veteran of the war, and immediately reacted when he saw this: "Wori! The Zhenjiang army wants to outflank us left and right! ”

He's right. Half an hour ago, that is, at the moment when the battle between the two sides was most fierce on the frontal battlefield, the last batch of fifty large ships carrying the Zhenjiang Storm Cavalry Army arrived near the river.

40,000 ironclad cavalry, with men and horses, all in place, began to assemble in formation.

Xu Youchang immediately assigned them a task, divided them into left and right wings, and made every effort to outflank the Xuanjia rebels and cut them off!

Taking advantage of the dark sky, the First Army moved quickly, and the two iron cavalry galloped along the edge of the battlefield to cover the kill.

Thanks to the calm, old and experienced Ye Rongcheng who is in charge here, if Xie Bao's command is changed, I am afraid that he will not be shocked until the Wind Army rushes to the nearest place and launches a fierce attack.

For now, the rebels still have a chance to adjust their response, which is a fluke.

The four main battalions lined up in front of the main formation, divided into several skirmish lines to protect the main formation, while tens of thousands of archers turned to the east and west flanks, preparing to block the cavalry from a long distance. The rest of the rebel soldiers and horses, in accordance with Ye Rongcheng's order, adjusted the order, changed the rear team to the front team, and gradually began to shrink and retreat.

Xu Youchang, who was observing the enemy's situation from a distance, also noticed the changes in the rebels at this time, and knew that the strategy of outflanking the cavalry had been seen through by the other party. So, he hurriedly informed Du Jian on the front line, and without hesitation, he launched a charge, disrupting the pace of the enemy's retreat, and buying time for the cavalry.

The military order was issued, and the Second Army, regardless of casualties and exhaustion, immediately advanced in formation and quickly pressed towards the Xuanjia rebels.

The drums of the charge sounded again, and the more dense the fighting, more than 10,000 soldiers began to accelerate and rush with the drumbeat. The sword and shield bearers raised their shields, the archers ran and shot, and the warriors who broke the formation brandished their spears and axes and roared their battle horns, vowing to avenge the sacrifices of their comrades.

As if to echo them, the cavalry on both flanks also increased their speed significantly, and the muffled sound of hooves rolled in, and the sound was amazing.

This is a scene where even the Turkic elite can't help but be stunned when they see it, who can not panic?

However, Ye Rongcheng is not good at stubble, he has been on the battlefield for a long time, and in the face of changes in the battlefield, he hurriedly transferred two cavalry teams to assist in breaking off, and the rest of the men and horses stepped up their actions and retreated in the direction of Xuancheng.

After fighting for such a long time, the troops have exhausted their sharpness at the moment, and the opposite side is full of new forces, only relying on fortifications and temporarily avoiding the edge is the wisest choice!

The four infantry battalions and two cavalry regiments responsible for blocking the enemy after the break, with a total of only six or seven thousand men, must ensure the safety of the main force even if they are not allowed to go out.

Under his impromptu decision, the entire rebel army finally withdrew from the battlefield in time, and entered the Xuancheng defense line with complete formation and danger. And Xu Youchang saw that there was no way to take the opportunity to leave the other party, so he had to let the troops gather first and wait for the other troops to cross the river one after another to converge.

At this time, the rebels had gathered nearly 300,000 troops in the Xuancheng area, and although they could not stop Xu Youchang from forcibly crossing the river, they were still confident that they would hold the base camp of the front line, Xuanzhou.

In terms of the Zhenjiang Army, in two days and two nights, all 150,000 men and horses of the three main armies reached the south bank of the river, and except for the Second Army, which suffered heavy losses, the First Army of the Wind and the Sixth Army of the Angry Waves were basically intact and full of combat strength.

At the same time, Jigriz also brought Li Jiangyao's words to Xu Youchang, the enemy situation has changed, and if he can fight Xuancheng, he will fight, and if he can't fight, he will withdraw immediately.

Xu Youchang did not hesitate to this, and still decided to carry out the original plan and launch an attack on Xuancheng.

He explained to generals such as Du Jian and Jigriz that although the enemy had made full preparations and had a large number of troops larger than his own, they did not know the true intentions of the Zhenjiang army, and they could not even be sure that this time was just a tentative attack to cross the river. Or is the battle of the Southern Expedition in full swing?

Therefore, the opponent can only take a passive defense first and wait to find out the situation.

The so-called figuring out the situation includes whether the Zhenjiang Army will continue to attack, and whether there will be new troops crossing the river to participate in the battle.

At the same time, the naval battle in the direction of Yiling upstream has begun. Bao Yuchun was fierce and ambitious, and launched the main force to attack Yang Li and Wang Wenlie. Whether the imperial fleet can withstand this difficulty depends to a large extent on whether the Zhenjiang army downstream can beat Lao Jianhua.

Only by hurting the enemy and fearing the enemy can the rebel sailors be forced by the pressure of the situation and have no choice but to end the military operation against Yiling ahead of schedule, so that Yang Li and them can breathe a sigh of relief.

Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, the troops crossing the river must be brave and fearless in the face of death, and challenge the enemy's 300,000 troops with 150,000 troops.

"Brothers, I don't want to force you to do anything," Xu Youchang wrapped a thick bandage on his shoulders, but his tone was as brave and resolute as usual: "But as a member of the Zhenjiang Army, there is one thing I want to tell you clearly. Fighting alone, outnumbered, not afraid of strong enemies, and living to the death, these sixteen words have always been the soul of our heroic army! In order to win, I hope to lead you to gallop on the field and move forward! ”