Volume 3 Chapter 21 My Mountain
The whole night was silent, without any movement. Xiao En returned to the city, Yang Yizhong set up his own camp, and even Zhang Maode didn't know what method he used to make those wealthy families in the county who were once mortgaged by him shut up... and as some wine, meat, melons and fruits were specially sent out from the city, both inside and outside the city were safe and sound.
Not only that, the next morning, Yang Yizhong continued his march eastward, and there was no further conversation in the city.
In the next two days, the two thousand imperial guards marched carefully, passing through Jingdezhen, Guanshan Town, and then to Wushan, and arrived at the bank of the Ji River. They were ready to cross the Ji River from Beixin Bridge behind Wushan to support the Pingyin front line downstream on the other side of the river.
However, General Yang's flank insertion stopped here, because Zhang Rong, the governor of Dongping Prefecture and the chief of Liangshanpo, who was in a fierce battle ahead, finally sent someone to deliver a "military order", requiring Yang Yizhong, the fish that had escaped the net, to stay by the bank of the Ji River and not to advance without permission. Otherwise, he would treat them as enemy troops regardless of whether they were straight or crooked, officials or thieves.
Although Yang Yizhong was completely helpless, he still couldn't help being furious.
It is said that when he arrived at the bank of the Ji River, he had already made a clear investigation and knew that the fighting ahead was fierce... Zhang Rong concentrated almost all the forces of Liangshan Marsh and Dongping Prefecture, and personally led no less than 20,000 people. Relying on the convenience of Pingyin City, he fought continuously with the Pseudo-Qi around Pingyin; on the Pseudo-Qi side, Liu Lin, the eldest son of Liu Yu, led more than 20,000 Jinan soldiers, and Kong Yanzhou, the Marshal of the Pseudo-Qi, led more than 10,000 Yanzhou soldiers. They had slightly more troops, so their momentum was also very great.
And to be honest, among these three people, Zhang Rong and Kong Yanzhou are truly capable people in terms of morality and stance, and Liu Lin is not some fool... What's more, at this point, as Prime Minister Wang Boyan said that day, the leaders of the Pseudo-Qi have no way to retreat no matter what position they are in, so they will never be careless in military matters.
As for Zhang Rong, not to mention that he was a recognized invincible man on inland waters these days, even on land, he was also a well-known hero in Jingdong in the past. Not to mention that he had always regarded the defeat caused by Kong Yanzhou's betrayal as the greatest humiliation in his life... And how fierce would this kind of emotional gangster be once he got ruthless?
Therefore, although the battle between these three men on the front line lasted less than ten days, they were extremely lively with ambushes, violent attacks, building camps to control cities, and burning earthen ramparts.
But then again, such a lively situation, to put it another way, means that the two sides have been in a fierce confrontation.
Logically speaking, at this time, as long as Zhang Rong let go of some of his worries and let Yue Fei lead a considerable number of troops across the Wenshui River, it would almost be a natural victory, and it would be possible to achieve the kind of clean and neat victory that Emperor Zhao expected.
Even if they just let Yang Yi's two thousand elite soldiers go to the front line to fight, maybe it would bring some surprises.
However, didn't this Liangshan bandit leader always have a strong prejudice against the government troops? Didn't he regard that defeat as the greatest hatred of his life, so much so that he felt ashamed to even meet Yue Fei after the defeat?
So, back to the present, the two thousand imperial guards can play a role in the battle of tens of thousands of people, but if they really anger Zhang Rong, they may end up with nothing left in the millstone of the battle. As the commander of the imperial guards, Yang Yizhong led the most basic armed force of the Zhao family. He only came to fight and sharpen the troops, but he did not want to risk throwing the entire army out without principles.
In other words, the troops can be thrown out, but they must be valuable... As a close confidant of the emperor, Yang Yizhong was very clear about Emperor Zhao's ideas about the army.
So, Yang Yizhong chose to stay in Wushan, on the northwest side of the Jishui River which runs from southwest to northeast, and set up camp in front of the permanent floating bridge at the foot of Wushan, which was convenient for marching, namely the famous Beixin Bridge... and sent military intelligence documents to Yue Fei in Zhongdu further south (across the Jishui River and Wenshui River) for contact and reporting.
However, after waiting for three days in the scorching heat, not only did they not wait for the messenger who they thought would return in three days, but they were greeted by a rainstorm, and in the rainstorm, an unexpected guest suddenly arrived.
It is said that the weather suddenly changed that day, with heavy rain and gloomy sky. At noon, a troop of soldiers suddenly marched very quickly from the north of Jishui River, passed through the southern ridge of Wushan Mountain, headed straight for Beixinqiao, and then crashed into the camp of the imperial guards.
The two sides suddenly met in the rain, both were shocked, and then a fierce battle broke out quickly.
For the attacking troops, they could naturally attack directly when they encountered the defenders at this critical juncture. As for Yang Yi Zhong, he realized the purpose of the attacking army almost at the first time - Zhang Rong was exhausted at this time, so the attacking army must be the Qi or Jin army, and this trip must take advantage of the heavy rain to cross the river, encircle Pingyin from behind, in an attempt to completely wipe out Zhang Rong's main force.
Back to the present, although it was daytime, it was dark due to the rain, the roads were muddy, and the flags were not flying, so the battle started with the most intense and brutal melee and hand-to-hand combat.
The Imperial Guards were caught in the battle, but because they failed to put on their armor in time, they suffered hundreds of casualties right from the start. However, the sacrifice of these troops and Yang Yizhong's decisiveness undoubtedly bought precious time for the follow-up troops. So when the follow-up troops put on their armor and prepared themselves, and poured out of the barracks in teams of 100 and 10, the battle quickly turned around.
Excellent armor, high-quality and complete weapons, carefully selected soldiers, the protection of the camp, the terrain information advantage brought by being stationed here for several days, and more importantly, the chaos brought by the rain, plus Yang Yizhong's command, allowed the imperial guards who reacted to it to exert their combat effectiveness to the extreme. On the contrary, countless attacking troops were blocked under Wushan Mountain. Facing the small but exquisite camp, the terrain barrier of the southern peak of Wushan Mountain made them lose their greatest advantage in numbers.
At the same time, the rush and chaotic fighting in the rain caused serious command confusion, making the attacking troops completely unaware of the battle situation ahead and they just kept throwing troops into the battle.
So, in the summer rain, on the banks of the Ji River, beside the bridge, the sounds of iron clashing, wailing and crying, shouting and killing, as well as the sounds of wind, clouds, thunder and lightning that took the initiative no matter what, created a mixed, teeth-grinding sound of battle sonata.
Combined with the bloody smell that could not be covered by the rain, the Song army camp guarding Beixinqiao instantly turned into a meat grinder.
The rain poured down for the entire afternoon. Amidst the thunder and lightning, corpses piled up and began to gradually block traffic. In the end, it became the main factor in reducing the intensity of the fighting.
As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened. The attacking troops finally had to give up the fight due to the lack of visibility, and the imperial guards could only light torches in the camp and shout, hoping that their injured comrades would take the initiative to call for help...but that was all. In the pitch-black rainy night, coupled with the intense fatigue, cleaning the battlefield undoubtedly became a luxury. After a period of chaos, it was unknown how many people were rescued.
However, it was also because of this that the next morning, the rain continued to fall, and as soon as the sun appeared through the clouds, the Song army, having gained a little mobility, immediately took action and began to quickly clean up the battlefield.
Yang Yizhong, who had not taken off his armor all night, returned early to the camp where the fiercest fighting took place yesterday to conduct an inspection.
However, in the dim light of early morning, he was shocked to find that in the camp where rain was pouring, water gathered under the pile of corpses, forming a gurgling waterway, and then flowed towards the Ji River, but there was not much blood in it.
It’s not that there is no blood.
In fact, almost every time the imperial guards who were roughly cleaning the battlefield and trying to find their own dead and wounded soldiers turned over a corpse, obvious blood stains would merge into the rainwater on the ground, but they were soon diluted and muddied by more water, and then disappeared.
In other words, if the corpses were not still piled up in the camp, if the wounded were not still wailing, if the ruined camp and messy weapons were not right in front of them, the heavy rain that had not stopped that night would have completely covered up all traces of the fierce battle of yesterday.
Human power is nothing compared to nature.
Just as Yang Yizhong was staring at the water under his feet in a daze, suddenly, an extremely horrifying scream sounded from not far away, which stunned the imperial guards who were roughly cleaning the battlefield around them, but soon, these people returned to normal.
As for Yang Yizhong, who had not taken off his armor all night, he stood still with his sword in his hand, like a sculpture, ignoring everything and just staring at the water under his feet in a daze.
"control……"
In the slightly less rain, Zhai Biao, holding a notched broadsword, flashed out from where he was howling before. He came closer, but his face was ferocious. "After asking clearly, although there are many Jin people's clothes mixed in, they are not Jin people, nor are they from Jinan Prefecture, nor are they from Kong Yanzhou of Yanzhou. They are from Li Cheng of Qingzhou, with a total number of no less than 20,000! And they did not come along the Ji River, but after the war, they followed Du Yan, the leader of Mizhou under Li Cheng, directly to Liaocheng, Hebei, and changed the Jin people's flag there, and found some old Jin people's clothes and armor in Daming Prefecture, and then suddenly crossed the river the day before yesterday and came here. They wanted to scare us with the Jin people's flag, but unexpectedly, the rain was too heavy and it didn't show at all."
Yang Yi suddenly realized something and thought about it, but he said it directly: "Pretending to repair the plank road to attack Chencang secretly... Li Cheng did not go to Yizhou, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Instead, he had already agreed to come as a surprise force, but he happened to meet us... Send someone to report this matter to Zhang Zhenfu of Pingyin and Yue Taiwei of Zhongdu immediately!"
"Yes!" Zhai Biao responded but did not move.
Amid the drizzling rain, Yang Yizhong took a step forward, then raised his sword and looked back: "Anything else?"
"The thief was in pain and said a lot of things." Zhai Biao's face was still ferocious. "This time, Li Cheng's army has at least 20,000 people, and they came from the other side of the Yellow River. The troops that fought yesterday were mainly from Du Yan, the leader of Mizhou under Li Cheng..."
"I already know that." Yang Yizhong looked calm. "Didn't you just say that?"
"Commander, what I mean is..." Zhai Biao looked at him with wide eyes. "If Li Cheng's troops crossed the Yellow River from Liaocheng, the nearest and most convenient place to cross the Jishui River is Beixinqiao. He has no reason to divide his troops to cross the Jishui River from Huajiakou downstream. It is close to Pingyin, and if things go wrong, they will be discovered by the Pingyin army... But on the other hand, if they are blocked today, the sneak attack will fail and they will have to turn to a strong attack. Then Li Cheng may divide his troops to cross the Jishui River from multiple places to forcibly surround Pingyin."
"I know that too." Yang Yizhong's expression remained unchanged.
"Commander," Zhai Biao gritted his teeth and said, "Although we won yesterday, we were outnumbered after all. We lost two or three hundred men in the first encounter. This is only the six or seven thousand men of Li Cheng's vanguard Du Yan, and most of Li Cheng's troops are about to arrive. Unfortunately, the rain today is worse than yesterday..."
"Zhai Biao, what do you want to say?!" Yang Yizhong finally lost his patience. "When giving advice in the military, one should be straightforward."
"Commander, I'm not saying that we should withdraw our troops and then sell Pingyin to Li Cheng for nothing. Even though Xiao En from Yanggu is a tough guy, he can't do such a thing... What I want to ask is, can we withdraw to the other side of the river and defend across the river?" Zhai Biao's words aroused the interest of several commanders and captains around him.
In fact, not only these officers, but also Yang Yizhong fell silent for a moment.
Defending across the river is not just as simple as effectively reducing the impact of military disadvantages, but more importantly, it can effectively avoid fighting. The imperial guards are so elite that if they have the advantage of being across the river and guarding the bridge, they will be almost invincible .
Therefore, doing so seems to be the most appropriate approach, as it can protect the entire team to the greatest extent.
In addition to this, there is another point that Zhai Biao did not say, but the meaning is very clear, that is, when the necessary time comes, that is, when Zhang Rong in Pingyin is surrounded, or the entire army is defeated, the more than 1,000 soldiers who retreated to the other side of the Jishui River in advance can retreat southward calmly, cross the Wenshui River to join Yue Fei... If Zhang Rong does not regard himself as an official army, then why should the imperial soldiers fight for him?
Although I say I have no prejudice, I am still not immune to worldly concerns.
But soon, Yang Yizhong, the commander of this elite army, made up his mind and shook his head: "No!"
Everyone was stunned.
However, Yang Yizhong did not hide it, but explained the reason clearly:
"Although the rain is light, the sky has not cleared up yet. It is difficult to monitor the situation across the river. Once we cross the river to defend... If I were Li Cheng, I would know that the troops on the other side of the river are all armored and elite, and it would be difficult to attack them by force. I would only leave a few small troops to act as decoys, and then sneak downstream and force a crossing from Huajiakou... Wouldn't our two thousand squads be idle by then? But if we stay on this side of the river, Li Cheng will at least have an army several times larger than mine to monitor us. He might even have the intention of mobilizing all his troops and taking advantage of the light rain today to force us to cross the Jishui River. In this way, although we are in danger for a while, we can play a big role in the overall situation!"
The officers were all stunned for a moment, then came to their senses. However, many of them became hesitant again after they came to their senses.
"I know what you are thinking." Raindrops dripped from the edge of the armor. Yang Yizhong continued to hold the sword and looked around, speaking in public. "You think I am betting all the 2,000 squads of the Guan family on the banks of the Ji River and beside Wushan, but in fact it is not that serious... Because you must not forget that the reason why the pseudo-Qi army launched this offensive was that they thought that Yue Taiwei's troops were being reorganized and would definitely not be able to fight, so they dared to take a reckless risk to take Dongping Prefecture. In other words, the pseudo-Qi did not take Yue Taiwei's troops into account this time, and even did not take us into account, otherwise why would we meet suddenly yesterday? But you and I both know that Yue Taiwei's troops can fight, and we are here! In other words, the overall situation of the Dongping Prefecture war is in the hands of the Imperial Song! So as long as we can hold on for two or three days, please ask Yue Taiwei to stop worrying about the situation of Zhang Zhenfu and send troops directly, then Pingyin will definitely win or lose, there will definitely be reinforcements here, and Li Cheng will have to leave! On the contrary, if we retreat to the other side of the river at this time, it may ruin the overall situation! And if that happens, how can we face the Guan family after we go back?"
Having said this, without waiting for anyone to say anything, Yang Yizhong drew his sword and said coldly to the officers around him: "I have explained the reasoning. From now on, no more discussion of crossing the river is allowed. Stay in the camp and guard the bridge. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed!"
After all, they had participated in several bloody battles and were arrogant and brave generals. Upon hearing this, they did not say anything more, but just bowed their heads and accepted the order.
However, just as Yang Yizhong had conveyed his decision, before everyone had a break, as expected, in the slightly lighter rain, a large number of soldiers and horses wearing Jin army armor attacked at high speed, and became a black mass in the rain, casting a shadow on people's hearts...
Moreover, although it was summer, the impact of the rain was still too great. At this time, the Song army that had camps had just made preparations, while the pseudo-Qi soldiers camping outside had already launched an attack. It can be seen that they must have been under pressure from above and had to act hastily.
So, they have to pay for it.
