Therefore, until the capture of Liu Leopard, Lu Yu and others also maintained a somewhat skeptical attitude towards whether this battle could be won in the end, but now, seeing the appearance of this Liu Leopard, they realized that the morale of the Tang Army in the past few days is estimated to be very exhausted, and this kind of intangible thing is hidden in the trend of eliminating the growth of the other, and fierce generals like Liu Leopard have shown such a negative attitude, not to mention the rest of the soldiers? So a banquet was held on the spot, and I got drunk, which can be regarded as a good relief for my tense nerves.

Four days ago, the Chinese Tang Army set out from Zuoliucheng, their target was Dazu County, eighty-three miles away, and it was expected to arrive at Dazu County in two days, and then attack the city overnight, and then set off after resting in Dazu County for three days.

Three days ago, the Central Tang Army was only forty-three miles away from Dazu County, and they walked forty miles in one day.

However, two days ago, the Chinese and Tang troops had only traveled ten miles in one day! There were still thirty-three miles away from their target, Dazu County!

And now, the Tang Army is still fifteen miles away from Dazu County, although it can already faintly see the pagoda spire of Shuangmu Temple next to Dazu County, but the entire Tang Army does not have much confidence in whether it can reach Dazu County.

Because there was a river ahead.

Mogan River!

There is a stone bridge over the river that is said to have been built for more than 80 years, allowing two horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side.

However, what appeared in the eyes of the Tang Army at this time was a very simple end and one end of the two potholes, which can be said to be incomparably huge, and even the bridge piers were gone. Why such a thing happened, of course, was not because of the earthquake, but because of man-made disasters, and it must have been a good thing done by the Northern Qi army.

At this time, it had rained not long ago, so the river was full of water. The banks of the river are also open, and both sides of the river banks are covered with wetlands of reeds and aquatic plants, so the area covered by the river is actually close to fifty or sixty meters.

Fortunately, the river level of this Mogan River seems to have skyrocketed from two or three zhang to seven or eight zhang, but in fact, the water is not turbulent, and after field investigation, the river water is at most waist-high, so if you want to pull up the thick rope, it is definitely not impossible to wade across the river. It's just that the time it takes is at least two or three pillars of incense.

There is a big problem here, and there is a very clear instruction in the book of the art of war, that is, to attack halfway! When crossing the river, the whole army will be divided into two obvious parts by the river, and the first cannot take care of each other, and the order cannot be passed on in time, which is a taboo for soldiers.

It was precisely because of this matter that Tang Lie of the Central Tang Army was frowning and pacing back and forth all the time. In the end, because of such a "trivial matter", a military meeting was simply convened.

And as soon as this military discussion came, it fell into controversy,

First of all, there was a reckless man who shouted. Let our people cross first, we will all be able to defend the ferry, the most afraid is that these bastards will not come to fight, they dare to come to fight hard, that is the best. We must let these rat-like Northern Qi thieves taste their own strength.

However, some people also began to point out clearly on the side, this is a taboo for soldiers, once it is said to start crossing the river. Who can guarantee that the other side will be able to win when it comes? If the victory is not possible and the forward army is completely annihilated, what we will have to face is not the current situation of low morale, but the evil result of the direct collapse of morale!

At this time, looking at this incomparably complicated controversy situation, Tang Lie's heart couldn't help but feel a hidden worry, if it was before, how could the dignified army have such a controversy in order to cross such a river with the thickness of a trouser belt? Not to mention who is right and who is wrong on both sides of the dispute, and who is right and who is wrong, just from the fact that the controversy has arisen, it can already be said that there are many problems.

Some far-sighted generals even thought that the controversy over crossing the river at this time was actually the result of the continuous decline in morale and confidence in the army.

Even if they successfully entered Dazu County, they did not step into the land of the Tang Dynasty, they could see their determination from the way the Northern Qi Army dealt with a bridge, and the situation in Dazu County was also conceivable.

As for those who advocate not crossing the river, where do they go? Do you return to Zuoliucheng? Do you really regard that ghost place as your home? Or do you think that this place is a treasure of feng shui, and it is also a blessing for you to be able to bury your bones here? The reasons and excuses of these people are also very simple, that is, the enemy does not move, I do not move, and the people of the Northern Qi Dynasty are so hard to wear. In short, if his gang drags the main force of the Northern Qi here, the Xirong people will be able to happily plague Yinzhou.

In the face of this statement, Tang Lie felt that these people could only be described as rat-eyed, not to mention that the secret orders in China requiring the return were tighter and tighter, and the Northern Qi people alone were determined to be able to grit their teeth and consume their own gang to the end.

For the Northern Qi Dynasty, it can already be clearly seen: Xirong's side has just suffered from civil strife, and the conflict between the monarch and the national teacher Wang Meng has led to a great loss of vitality, so the purpose is not to capture the city, but to plunder a large amount of goods to go back, as long as the Northern Qi army has the purpose of holding the city, then it is impossible for the Xirong army, which is already full of money, to make up its mind to fight to the death and attack the city!

And for the Northern Qi Dynasty, it has been two or three consecutive wind and rain, and the invasion of the East China Pirates has suffered the lightest damage, according to the latest informant report, among the top ten permanent positions set up in the country, there are still six of them are full of treasury, so even if you connive at Xirong, the northwest is broken, disabled, and eroded for ten years, at most, it will damage the vitality, and it will not hurt the muscles and bones.

On the contrary, once the expeditionary army of oneself is left, and in the current situation, it is not only the cavalry against the infantry, but also such a thousand miles of attack, once the Northern Qi people win, it will be a complete victory like a pocket, that is, the total annihilation of the whole army, in this case, after these captives alone are absorbed, the strength of the Northern Qi sergeants can be increased by a large margin, if there are scruples. Let them deal with the Xirong people, and there will be no problem in dealing with the Dongxia people, not to mention the secret training skills of the soldiers of the Zhongtang Mansion that may be leaked out!

As soon as he thought of this, Tang Lie suddenly felt upset, and even had an indescribable sadness, looking up, he only felt that it was vast, the sky was high and the earth was wide, and it seemed that there was no place for himself!

The next day, the Tang Army attempted to force its way across the Mogan River. The Northern Qi cavalry naturally came uninvited, stopped on the other side of the river, and the soldiers who crossed the river could not wear steel heavy armor, otherwise, once they fell into the water, they would drown, and they could only rely on leather armor and shields to cover the front, but the Northern Qi army seemed to have expected such a situation for a long time, and at this time they did not use any high-end cavalry tactics, but arranged a large number of archers on the river bank. Suddenly, arrows rained down, and the water of the Mogan River turned red for a while, and the most terrible thing was that the Tang Army that crossed the river had no way to counterattack at all!

Of course. After all, bows and arrows are not machine guns, and if the Tang Army has no way to cross the river at all, it is not necessarily true, but there are still cavalry of the Northern Qi galloping back and forth on both sides of the river. Once it is discovered that there are people crossing the river, they will rush to kill it, so that the Central Tang Army has no way to form a formation, in such a situation. The Chinese and Tang troops really suffered extremely heavy casualties, killing from morning to noon, and still failed to establish an effective bridgehead on the opposite bank.

In such a situation, someone brought it up, saying why not cross the river at night, in this case, the bows and arrows of the thieves of the Northern Qi Dynasty are not so accurate, and others think about it this way, and they also think it is very reasonable. At the same time, some people also proposed that another 5,000 people could be taken out to cross the river three miles upstream and downstream, so that the three-pronged approach could be said to be foolproof, and 15,000 people could unite together and establish a bridgehead very easily. As soon as this bridgehead on the other side of the river is established, the next thing to do is much easier.

Next, the Tang Army began their plan to cross the river, which officially began at the third watch. At the beginning, everything was carried out strictly according to the original plan, almost tightly, and in the dark night, the Northern Qi army seemed to be very tired during the day and was sleeping well.

However, just when the three armies of the Central Tang Army crossed the river separately had just crossed most of it, the Northern Qi Army quietly appeared on the grassland, and it seemed that in the dark night, it was like dozens of meandering fire dragons rushing straight forward.

Therefore, when twenty or thirty frightened buffaloes flicked their flaming tails, frantically rushed forward, and rushed out of the temporary formation of the Central Tang Army, the resistance encountered by the Snake Devouring Army immediately after it could be said to be much smaller, and the subsequent collapse of the Chinese and Tang Army was almost a matter of course! In the dark, it was quite difficult for the troops crossing the river in three ways to force their way close!

Therefore, under such circumstances, it is only natural that the 15,000 pioneers sent by the Chinese and Tang Army to cross the river will return with their feathers. At this time, the Tang Army realized that although the darkness limited the opponent's rain of arrows, it also seriously limited its own side's scheduling and organizational ability, especially after the river crossing was completed in a hurry, as long as the team was scattered, it was almost impossible to continue to organize and fight again.

The chaotic battle in the dark is definitely not the strength of the Tang Army, fortunately, the river that has just been crossed behind is not a dead end, and it can escape back to the opposite bank with a deep foot and a shallow foot, and the cavalry behind it has no way to pursue it again, so although the Tang Army is defeated, the casualties are not too big, and 12,300 people have returned, missing, captured, and injured more than 2,000 people.

It's just that the next day, the Northern Qi people made a fuss about these captives and wounded, and they actually threw these people on the tidal flats and reeds on the other side, and the pain of these two thousand people can be said to be endless, inside, and then the Northern Qi people retreated far away.

At first, the people of the Tang Army thought that the conscience of the people of the Northern Qi Dynasty had discovered that they could actually release their brothers and comrades back, but they did not discover the other party's poison until they rescued them! Why is it described as poisonous? It is because the 2,000 people who were released, except for the seriously wounded, were all stabbed twice in the thighs without exception!

The wounds from these two stabs were quite large, and the flesh and blood were blurred, but they were not fatal, and they did not call for the muscles and bones with a dead hand. It's just that it's almost impossible to walk like a normal person, and because of the blood loss, the wounded are also very weak, or they need to be carried by someone, or they need to be carried.

For the Central Tang Army, which almost relied entirely on their legs to walk, the burden would be great, and it was impossible for the more than 1,000 wounded to ignore it! However, if their injuries were not ten days and half a month, they would not want to go to the ground, so this meant that if they wanted to move with the army, they would have to carry such a huge burden.

What's even more terrifying. For the time being, the Tang Army is quite affordable, but the attitude of the Northern Qi Army at this time is the most intriguing, they don't kill any of the prisoners, which will greatly reduce the psychology of the bottom soldiers to fight to the end, and at the same time, the attitude of the other party can be said to be very obvious, that is, they keep throwing burdens on their own army that wants to pursue speed and efficiency, which can be said to be-for-tat!!

Next, the Northern Qi Army and the Central Tang Army can be said to have started a battle of wits and courage around this Mogan River. The two sides can be said to have their own strategies, which makes people feel dazzled and almost dizzying. It's just that the commanders of the armies on both sides are veteran generals who have fought old battles, and they all know that the burden on their shoulders is not light. Therefore, it can be said that they are all fighting for half a catty.

In the end, the Chinese Tang Army finally showed the stupidest but also the most effective method, that is, the whole army was armoured, after finding out the situation at the bottom of the river. During the day, a heavy army was assembled, and a full 20,000 men formed a formation and crossed the river.

Such a flat push tactic finally made the Northern Qi army retreat. It's just that in this way, the Chinese and Tang troops gathered all their strength in crossing the river, which was inevitably top-heavy, so it was found a flaw by the Northern Qi army, which seemed to be pervasive like a wolf pack, and bit it the Chinese Tang army that did not cross the river, but the casualties were not heavy, and the key was to lose a large number of mules and horses and baggage for transportation

This kind of tactic is really very patient, but also extra cautious, not to seek merit, but to seek no fault, but also has a bit of "set small victories for big victories" taste, little by little to consume the strength of the Tang Army, and when the Tang Army faltered and stumbled into Dazu County, it was already a full ten days!!

Eighty-three miles, a full ten days!!

At this time, the soldiers in the Tang Army did not have the word kill the enemy in their minds at all, and they just wanted to sleep well.

However, less than two or three hours after the Central Tang Army entered the city, and when the vast majority of the Central Tang Army was just falling asleep, more than a dozen fires suddenly appeared in the city!

The most terrible thing is that the water source in the city was actually destroyed, and then the fire spread extremely fiercely, and the buildings in the city have been roasted by the hot sun for three or four days in the past few days, and it can be said that it is completely dry, and it is a little bit of a fire, plus the fire is obviously premeditated, and it immediately becomes a prairie fire.

As the saying goes, fire and water are ruthless, no matter how strong the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are, what is the use of facing the raging fire?

At this time, Tang Lie looked at the raging fire and realized that the Northern Qi Army had always maintained a strong attack on the Tang Army, which was to make them exhausted, and they had no time to estimate these details, just like this fire plan, he didn't order to carefully check whether there were any traps in the city, but the sergeants under his command were also exhausted, where would they have thought that the other party would make a fuss in this regard? ?

Besides, the other side can already be said to have an all-round advantage on the battlefield, to put it bluntly, even if the plan of this fire attack fails, for the Northern Qi army, it is just a loss of some manpower for arrangement and ignition, they can afford to lose, and they can make a comeback again and again.

However, the Chinese Tang Army has been forced to this step of the field, and the other party can withstand defeat, but the Chinese Tang Army can't withstand it!

Looking at the subordinates in the flickering firelight, as well as those panicked figures, Tang Lie sighed, only to feel that his chest was blocked, his eyes were dark, and he fell off the horse, and before he lost consciousness, the tears in his eyes had already flowed out:

"Your Majesty, Weichen is ashamed of his trust in you" (to be continued......)