Chapter 1709 The Renzi scroll is urgent

   Until now, Niu Jizong didn't think that the Yu River in front of him could block the way of his army.

   How could a 40,000-strong army be blocked by a small Yu River? Then he, the Xuanda Governor, should really be ashamed to death.

   What troubled him was how to break through the stone bridge head-on. The setback in front of him made him very embarrassed.

Li Daming's troops were maimed, Guo Yungui's troops suffered an indiscriminate disaster, he lost four or five hundred people in the tiger squatting cannon raid, even his own hands were cut off, and his morale was severely hit; Ji Shaochun's troops were in the process of shooting against the other side Zhong Ye lost a lot, but it was difficult to suppress the opponent's tiger crouching cannon, and the advantage in terrain was really irretrievable.

   Now, if we want to break through the stone bridge, before we find a good way, if we force the people below to charge, I'm afraid it will cause opposition from the people below.

  Although I have a high prestige in the Xuanfu army, it doesn't mean that I can force them to die. The two attacks of Li Daming's troops suffered disastrous defeats and suffered heavy losses, which is vividly remembered by everyone.

  The opponent's superiority in firearms is obvious, but the narrowness of the stone bridge makes it difficult for one's own superior force and cavalry characteristics to be brought into play.

   There is another way, which is to use firearms to deal with it.

  Using Xiyi cannons, erected on the side of the bridge, can bombard the south end of the bridge.

   Whether their gunfire formation, high ground advantage, or mud wall barriers, they can destroy all directions with one shot.

   It's a pity that although the Xuanfu army has these Xiyi cannons, they are all erected on the top of the wall for the purpose of defending the city. It is too difficult to transport them by artillery carts.

"My lord, it's better to wait for a while. Kuching has already gone to collect the civilian boats along the river, and we will hear back soon. There are not many troops on the other side. We just concentrate our superior forces and the characteristics of firecrackers to guard the bridge. Our cavalry only needs to pass by. River, they have no choice but to flee in embarrassment."

The staff seemed to be aware of the embarrassment of the situation. A stone bridge could pose such a big problem for the governor, and it would be a loss of face if the troops were lost. , will also hit morale even more.

"Forget it, in your opinion, the old man is not at the age when he is full of blood and can't let go of his face. How to achieve the goal as soon as possible is the right way." Niu Jizong finally nodded, "Let Kuching speed up the progress. Once you cross the river, immediately Attacking them from the flanks and rear, I don't believe they can withstand the charge of my cavalry in this dark night."

   Calm was finally restored on the stone bridge, and He Huchen also seized the time to let the soldiers clean up the wreckage at the bridgehead.

The dozens of camping vehicles left behind are basically still usable, and they can be used to form a vehicle formation. He Huchen suddenly had an idea. It is a fortress of firepower, and it can also play a different role in the face of cavalry attacks.

  Calm in the Shiqiao area does not mean that the fighting has stopped. He Huchen is very clear that there is still a greater crisis hidden in this endless darkness.

  Once the breakthrough of the stone bridge is unfavorable, the Xuanfu army will definitely try every means to cross the river by other means, there is no doubt about it.

  Yu River is not wide in the first place, and there are relatively densely populated areas along the river. It is not difficult to find materials and materials for crossing the river. Things like civilian boats and wooden boards can be used for crossing the river.

  But he lacked cavalry in his hands, and Zhao Keming's 300 cavalry had a worrying combat effectiveness. He Huchen didn't have much hope for how effective they could be.

  The only advantage is that the stone bridge is only two miles away from Gonghua City. Even if there is an unfavorable situation, it does not take too much time to withdraw to Gonghua City.

But this short two miles, if there are a large number of enemy cavalry, it will still be quite dangerous. He Huchen still has a very clear understanding of this. With cooperation, we can play a greater role.

   Bad news came quickly.

At the right time, He Huchen received a notification from Zhao Keming's cavalry that some ferries were found on the south bank of the Yu River ten miles away from the south end of the bridge, which proved that some Xuanfu troops had already crossed the Yu River, and the number was about one Between two hundred horses, at the same time, there were still some ships loading soldiers on the other side of the river. Because the sky was too dark to observe the surrounding situation, they could only maintain vigilance, but were unable to search the surroundings.

  He Huchen reckoned that this report already contained a lot of water. Three hundred cavalry dared to fight against the two hundred Xuanfu elite cavalry who had already crossed the river. He didn't think Zhao Keming's cavalry could have such courage.

It is bad news for the enemy cavalry to cross the river, but judging from the situation of the ferry, the Xuanfu army has not found enough boats for a large number of troops to cross the river for a while, which can be regarded as good news among bad news, otherwise they have to consider how to withdraw as soon as possible Gong Hua City.

  He Huchen's idea is to wait until dawn as much as possible, and at the same time evaluate the situation of the Xuanfu army crossing the river, strengthen the defense of Gonghua City, and finally see when the Jizhen army can arrive.

He has once again sent sentry horses along the path from Shunyi to send a notice to You Shigong, requesting You Shigong to come to Gonghua City as soon as possible. Deal with the Xuanfu cavalry crossing the river.

  You Shigong, who was eighty miles away, was also shocked when he received the notification from He Huchen.

  On the one hand, I didn't expect the Xuanfu army to come so fiercely.

He originally expected that the other party should have just reached the line of Hongqiao at this time, and he might arrive at the line of Yuhe and Gonghua City tomorrow morning. It is impossible to walk down without a break in the middle, even a healthy horse can't stand it, let alone a human being.

  On the other hand, he didn't expect that the Beijing camp could fight such a beautiful blocking battle at the Yuhe Stone Bridge.

In his opinion, this is very bold. This is a field battle. Once the Xuanfu army breaks through, the possible result of the thousands of people in the Beijing camp will be the collapse of the entire army. It is the safest move to stick to the city of Gonghua, but this He Huchen is indeed the case bold.

Not to mention the boldness, the key point is that he was able to fight such a beautiful battle at the Yuhe Stone Bridge. If this guy did not lie, he used his firearms advantage to block the Xuanfu army twice, causing huge casualties to the Xuanfu army. The government army was blocked by the Yu River.

After the messenger left, You Shigong smiled and said to the surrounding generals: "It seems that I still underestimated the standard of the new Beijing camp. The emperor spent a lot of effort to rectify the Beijing camp. I still think it is a waste of money. Now it seems that I am narrow-minded."

   "My lord, this is the opponent's one-sided statement. The Xuanfu army is also an elite army. Can a Yu River stop their pace?" A general shook his head in disbelief.

   "Not necessarily. He Huchen didn't say that he could stop it. He only said that he won two battles on the stone bridge, which temporarily blocked the Xuanfu army's idea of ​​crossing the river through the stone bridge."

As the chief soldier of Ji Town, You Shigong is very familiar with the geographical terrain along the line from Yanqingwei to the capital city. This line is flat and there is basically no danger to defend. Unexpectedly, the other party could defend the bridge, and defend it so beautifully.

"It is impossible for the 30,000 to 40,000 troops of the Xuanfu army to be blocked by a stone bridge. If a floating bridge is built, boats can cross the river. Once a cavalry crosses the river, if He Huchen's troops are hit from behind or from the side, he will not be able to stand it. He Huchen is smart. If so, at this time, we should consider withdrawing quickly to defend Gong Huacheng, and to be honest, He Huchen's troops have already done a good job, even better than I imagined."

   "My lord, once the Xuanfu army crosses the river, Gonghua City may not be able to withstand it for long. I am afraid that we will not be able to catch up, or should we go directly to Qinghedian?" Another general also made a suggestion.

  Qinghedian is more than 20 miles east of Gonghua City, but there is no walled city there, and there is no stronghold to rely on, and it is only 20 miles away from Jingshi City.

"No, you can't go to Qinghedian. Qinghedian is flat and there is no danger to defend. If the Xuanfu army comes with force, we will be very passive, and the most important thing is that it is too close to the capital city, which will easily cause panic in the capital. The overall situation is even more unfavorable." You Shilu couldn't help interjecting.

   Of course You Shigong also understands this.

The change of the wind direction in the capital city is even more important than the victory or defeat of the war. Once Prince Yizhong really gets support in the capital city, and even directly supervises the country, the victory or defeat of the war outside the city will be meaningless, but the latter is of great importance to the former. And it has a huge influence, Feng Ziying also specifically reminded him of this.

You Shigong nodded: "Never give up on Gonghua City, Shilu, you and Zhao Jiangong will rush to Gonghua City immediately with all the cavalry, remember, don't enter the city, guerrilla attacks outside will force the Xuanfu army to attack the city with all their strength, so hold back Wait until my army arrives."

Both You Shilu and Zhao Jiangong understand the urgency of the situation now. Eighty miles is not a short distance for cavalry. Fighting puts high demands on the physical fitness of both soldiers and horses, and if you want to rush there at the fastest speed, it means that you can't bring any supplies of fodder. The only thing you can do is to rely on the supplies of fodder in Gonghua City.

  But this means breaking the Xuanfu army's blockade of Gonghua City in order to obtain it.

  Now I don’t care about so much, I can only go through it first and then deal with it according to the situation.

Once Gonghua City falls, the 30,000 troops in Jizhen will have almost nowhere to go. Qinghedian will definitely not be able to defend it. How can they retreat to Jingshi City, not to mention whether Jizhen's army is allowed to enter the city? , I am afraid that the wind direction in the capital city will be reversed, which is what You Shigong is most worried about.

"Wait a minute, Shilu, you take my personal army camp with you, and let them go first, so as to keep Gonghua City." In the end, You Shilu still made up his mind. The soldiers can't be kept, so what's the use of keeping the soldiers by your side?

  (end of this chapter)