Just when the imperial capital city was treacherous, and the forces of all parties appeared one after another, openly and secretly, and launched different means to prepare for a vicious fight, the defense line of the Great River, thousands of miles away, was a different scene.

The Battle of Jingkou ended with a complete victory for the Zhenjiang Army. Bao Yuchun and his nephew Bao Xinyan were lucky enough to break out of the encirclement, fleeing to the lower reaches of Jiangyin with the only dozens of broken ships, and then leaving the river and entering the sea, passing through Hangzhou Bay from Mingzhou and returning to Hangzhou, the capital of the rebels, along the Qiantang River.

After this battle, the naval forces of the southern rebels were completely suppressed, and although half of their warships were still scattered and deployed in various places on the south bank, there was absolutely no possibility of turning over in a short period of time, and the blockade of the great river was basically in a state of nothingness.

The time has come for the main army corps to cross the river in an all-round way.

And the first to seize this opportunity was not Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army, but the Suzaku Army located upstream.

As soon as he received the news of the victory at Jingkou, Ma Hongjie immediately contacted Yang Li and asked the imperial court Yiling Sailor Division to change the feint attack to the main attack, cover the two banners of the Vermilion Bird Army, a total of 80,000 soldiers and horses, force the river to cross, and launch an offensive against the enemy in front.

Their goal is directed at Liyang County.

Liyang County is the key place on the south bank of the Great River, close to Lishui and extending in all directions. To the east through Huarong County, you can enter Yueyang; Not far to the south, Wuling, another strategic town of the rebels; To the west, it borders the territory of Miao Jiang, and can smoothly join forces with Wu Rong, the leader of the Miao people.

It can be said that if Li Yang can be successfully taken after crossing the river, the western border of the rebels will be completely exposed to the strike range of the Suzaku Legion, and there will be no flaws and no danger to defend.

Yang Li received Ma Hongjie's request for assistance in the war, and immediately agreed, and 300 main warships, plus 500 large and small civilian ships, gathered in the Jiangling area of Jingzhou and began to carry the army.

At this time, the rebel warships in the direction of Yueyang were not small in number. Although the downstream side suffered a big defeat, it did not have a direct impact on them. In the face of the menacing imperial army, the Yueyang fleet immediately gathered more than 400 ships and went upstream, preparing to block it.

Yang Li Wang Wenlie reacted extremely quickly, and arrived at the Shishou Waterway first, separating a vast area between the rebel sailors and the Suzaku Army's river-crossing troops, waiting for work and protecting them in an all-round way.

Immediately, a fierce battle broke out between the two sides on the river.

Taking advantage of the Kunpeng Tenth Army's victory over Bao Yuchun, the Yiling Sailor Division had high morale and momentum, and did not fear it at all because the number of warships was less than that of the opponent.

On the contrary, the offensive of the Yiling fleet was more fierce than that of the Yueyang fleet!

More than 2,000 stray boats went down the river, and as soon as they came up, they blew up the rebels. Immediately afterwards, Yang Li and Wang Wenlie each led a hundred warships, and launched a charge in the north and south, directly flanking the enemy's fleet left and right.

The two sides fought fiercely for two days and one night, and the rebels who were superior in numbers were beaten to the bitter end, and finally had to retreat to Yueyang Fortress.

At the same time, the troops of the first banner of the Suzaku Legion successfully landed on the south bank and began to build a beachhead, and the second flag was immediately unfurled, and the soldiers and horses under their command were organized to board the ships in turn and prepare to cross the river.

The rebels who received the news reacted in time, and all kinds of men and horses quickly gathered towards Liyang County, and in two days, the scale of the defense there was increased from the original 3,000 men to 15,000 troops.

In addition, Xie Bao, who was ordered by Ye Rongcheng to reinforce the west, was also leading his 50,000 Xuanjia iron cavalry to rush forward and gallop in the direction of Liyang.

Soon, the vanguard of the first banner of the Suzaku Army fought with the rebels.

The enemy and us have engaged in several confrontations in the area of Niulang Lake and Silt Lake in the northeast of Liyang County, and there are as many as a dozen large and small battlefields.

Niulang Lake and Silt Lake are both small lakes with a small area, one in the east and the other in the west, and the middle zone between the two lakes happens to be the only way from the river to Liyang County.

The rebel defender was very experienced, and he took advantage of the complex terrain crisscrossed by the tributaries of the Songzi River, and cooperated with the Jiulong Mountain in the southwest direction, and laid down echelon positions relying on water networks and hills, defending layer by layer, blocking everywhere, that is, through repeated tug-of-war little by little, slowing down the overall advance rhythm of the Suzaku Army and buying time for reinforcements.

In the face of the enemy's clever combat strategy, the vanguard soldiers and horses of the first banner of the Suzaku Legion had no better way to crack it, so they could only change from a quick surprise attack to a steady and steady attack, while gradually seizing favorable terrain while waiting for the arrival of follow-up troops.

However, fortunately, Ma Hongjie's army itself is a southern army, and many of its troops are from the area of Liyang County, so they can be regarded as fighting at home, not only familiar with people, but also high morale. After several battles, he successfully seized most of the key positions.

With the passage of time, the second banner also completed the action of crossing the river one after another, and the first wave of the main attack group of the Suzaku Army gradually converged on the south bank of the river.

The slogan of "go back to your hometown and capture Lao Jianhua alive" resounded throughout the army.

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"Master Leopard, our current location is about five miles south of the silt lake," the deputy general wiped the sweat from his forehead and introduced: "There are still more than twenty miles away from Jiulong Mountain. ”

Xie Bao sat on his war horse and asked in a deep voice, "The battle situation over there in Jiulong Mountain, how is it now?" ”

The lieutenant replied: "Very intense! The defenders fought badly. Once the Jiulong Mountain defense line is lost, the road to Liyang County will be completely flat and there is no danger to defend, so the friendly troops have begun to fight hard. When I left, they had less than four thousand left! ”

"What about the Suzaku Army?" Xie Bao frowned: "How many troops did the enemy put in this time?" ”

"There are about 8,000 to 10,000 people attacking Jiulong Mountain," the adjutant general replied carefully: "There are at least 20,000 enemy troops on the periphery of the battlefield, mainly the soldiers and horses of the first banner of the Suzaku Legion. According to the scouts, they are ready to go on the offensive at any time. ”

Xie Bao hesitated.

Whether to go to Jiulong Mountain or go straight to Liyang County is a very difficult choice. As the adjutant general said, if Jiulong Mountain is lost, it will be very difficult for Liyang County to defend it, but if it rushes to the aid of Jiulong Mountain, it is very likely that it will be dragged by the enemy and fall into a bitter battle.

Once the second banner of the Suzaku Army is outflanked, or the third and fourth banners have also killed the river one after another, the 50,000 soldiers and horses in their hands alone may not be able to win.

The adjutant general saw his dilemma and suggested: "Master Leopard, it's better to lead the main force to Liyang, and take 10,000 iron cavalry to attack the Vermilion Bird Army on the side, so as to repel this wave of enemies first, so that Jiulong Mountain can take a breather." ”

Xie Bao thought about it carefully, waved his hand and said: "Either you don't go, or you go all, your 10,000 horses, at most, will take advantage of it, and it won't solve the big problem!" ”

The adjutant general was stunned: "What do you mean ......?"

Xie Bao turned his heart sideways and shouted: "Damn, it's useless to defend Liyang, it's better to fight and drive the Vermilion Bird Army back to the shore directly!" Lao Tzu doesn't believe it, everyone is as hard as the Zhenjiang Army? ”

Hearing this, the adjutant general was also aroused, and Ying He said: "Okay, just listen to you!" We didn't fall behind when we fought the Zhenjiang Army, not to mention the group of soft eggs in the Southern Army. I'm afraid of him! ”

Xie Bao waved the bronze hammer and shouted behind him: "Brothers, gallop twenty miles and raid the Vermilion Bird Army!" Let Ma Hongjie understand what is the strongest army in the world! ”

"Kill!" Thousands of Xuanjia Iron Horsemen raised their weapons and let out an earth-shattering roar.

The next moment, Xie Bao had already rushed out in the lead, and the black-clothed and black-armored cavalry array behind him was immediately launched. Countless horses' hooves trampled the earth with a loud roar, and black torrents swept over the dense forest and meadows like raging waves.

Twenty miles is a short journey for cavalry.

When Xie Bao and his troops arrived at Jiulong Mountain, the battle was entering its most tragic stage. The rebels were now numbered less than 2,000 men, and they all retreated to the top of the hill in their final death throes.

The Suzaku Legion has also just sent a new force to replace the troops that had suffered heavy casualties from the attack on the mountain, and is ready to launch a final kill.

However, what they never expected was that the target of the extermination could be changed in an instant.

Before the Suzaku Army could blow the horn of attack, the sound of thunderous hooves suddenly came from the eastern horizon. The huge formation composed of 50,000 iron horsemen seemed to fill the entire heaven and earth, and it swept around.

Even the veterans of the Southern Army, who had fought to the death with the Turks, couldn't help but show a look of panic when they suddenly saw this scene in front of them.

The main formation in the rear of the Suzaku Army immediately sounded a rapid gong, signaling the troops who were preparing to attack on the mountain to quickly retreat and return to safety.

However, the sound of the gong was not unhurried, and the troops were not unfast, but they were still in a hurry after all, and they were not as fast as the speed of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry to sprint with all their might.

In the blink of an eye, Xie Bao had already reached the foot of Jiulong Mountain. The 50,000 cavalry was divided into three routes, one flanking the mountain attacking troops, one way raiding the main rear formation, and the other going around the big circle to cut off the retreat of the Suzaku army.

Cavalry shock infantry, itself has an unparalleled natural advantage. Looking at the world, except for the perverted existence of pure hoplites in the Zhenjiang Army, no infantry unit, especially light infantry, can effectively resist the crushing of the iron cavalry without preparation.

The victory or defeat, from the moment the Xuanjia cavalry appeared on the battlefield, had become no suspense.

The black iron cavalry rushed left and right in the infantry group, as if entering a no-man's land, and the vanguard of more than 10,000 Vermilion Bird Army, without even waiting for the reinforcements that were close at hand, was directly killed by Xie Bao and them and collapsed on the spot.

By the time the tens of thousands of Suzaku Army's main forces near Jiulong Mountain arrived one after another, there were already corpses lying all over the place, and blood was flowing like a river.

And the Xuanjia rebels, who had succeeded in the first blow, also relined their positions at this moment, and were looking at them with fierce eyes.