Chapter 1709 Ren Zijuan Urgent Matter

Even now, Niu Jizong does not think that the Yu River in front of him can block the path of his army.

How could a 40,000-strong army be blocked by a small Yu River? Then he, the governor of Xuanda, should really die of shame.

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

Li Daming's troops were crippled, and Guo Yungui's troops suffered an unreasonable disaster. He lost four to five hundred men in the Tiger Crouching Cannon raid, and even his own hand was shot off, which severely damaged his morale; Zhongya suffered a lot of losses, but it was difficult to suppress the opponent's Crouching Tiger Cannon. The advantage on the terrain was really difficult to recover.

Now we have to break through from the stone bridge. Before we find a good way, if we ask the people below to charge forcefully, I'm afraid it will arouse opposition from the people below.

Although he has a high prestige among the Xuanfu army, this does not mean that he can force them to die. Li Daming's two attacks suffered a disastrous defeat and suffered heavy losses, which everyone can clearly remember.

The opponent's superiority in firearms is undoubted, and the narrow nature of the stone bridge makes it impossible to bring into play the advantages of our own superior troops and cavalry.

 Another way is to use firearms to deal with it.

Using Western cannons set up on this side of the bridge, you can bombard the south end of the bridge.

Either their fire formation, high ground advantages, mud wall barriers, and can be eroded in a cannon.

It is a pity that although the Xuanfu army has these kinds of Western cannons, they are all set up on the walls to defend the city. It is too difficult to transport them by artillery carts.

"Sir, why don't you wait a moment. Kuching has already gone to collect civilian boats along the river. We will hear back soon. There are not many people on the other side. They just concentrate their superior forces and fire guns to guard the bridge. Our cavalry only needs to pass by. River, they have no choice but to flee in embarrassment."

The staff also seemed to be aware of the embarrassment of the situation. A stone bridge could actually pose such a big problem to the governor, and the loss of troops and generals was a loss of face. If we try to attack again now, I am afraid that the effect will not be good, and the losses will be even greater. , which will also have a greater impact on morale.

"Forget it, in your opinion, I am not at that young age where I can't let go of my dignity. It is only right to achieve my goal as soon as possible." Niu Jizong finally nodded, "Let Kuching speed up the progress. Once we cross the river, we will immediately Attacking them from the flanks and rear, I don’t believe they can withstand the charge of my iron cavalry in this dark night.”

Calm finally returned to the stone bridge, and He Huchen also took the time to let the soldiers clean up the debris at the bridge head.

The dozens of abandoned campers were basically still usable, and they could be used to form a vehicle formation. He Huchen suddenly had an idea. If these campers could be used to form an formation, and the gunmen were hidden in them, it would be almost a move. It is a firepower fortress, and it can also play a different role when facing cavalry attacks.

 The calmness of the Shiqiao area does not mean that the fighting has stopped. He Huchen knew very well that there was a greater crisis hidden in this endless darkness.

Once the stone bridge breaks through, the Xuanfu army will definitely try every means to cross the river through other routes. There is no doubt about this.

The Yu River is not wide to begin with, and there are relatively densely populated areas along the river. It is not difficult to find materials and supplies for crossing the river. Civilian boats and wooden planks can all be used for crossing the river.

 But he lacks cavalry in his hands, and the combat effectiveness of Zhao Keming's three hundred cavalry is worrying. He Huchen does not have high hopes for how effective they can be.

 The only advantage is that this stone bridge is only two miles away from Gonghua City. Even if an unfavorable situation arises, it does not take much time to retreat to Gonghua City.

But in just two miles, if there is a large number of enemy cavalry, it will still be quite dangerous. He Huchen still has a clear understanding of this. Maybe at this time, if these dozens of campers are fighting against the spearmen, If you cooperate, you can play a greater role.

 Bad news comes fast.

At the right time, He Huchen received a notification from Zhao Keming's cavalry and found some ferries on the south bank of the Yu River ten miles away from the south end of the bridge. This proved that some Xuanfu troops had crossed the Yu River, and the number was about one. Between the two hundred horses, there were still some ships loading soldiers on the other side of the river. Because it was too dark, they could not detect the surrounding situation. They could only remain vigilant, but were unable to search the surroundings.

He Huchen estimated that this report was already very accurate. The three hundred cavalry dared to confront the two hundred elite Xuanfu cavalry who had already crossed the river. He did not think that Zhao Keming's cavalry could have such courage.

The enemy cavalry crossing the river is bad news, but judging from the situation of the ferries, the Xuanfu army has not yet found enough ships for a large number of troops to cross the river. This can be regarded as good news among the bad news. Otherwise, they will have to consider how to withdraw as soon as possible. Gong Huacheng.

He Huchen's idea is to delay it as long as possible until dawn. At the same time, he will assess 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, notifying You Shigong, requesting You Shigong to come to Gonghua City as soon as possible. If the army cannot arrive for the time being, he must at least send cavalry to reinforce him, otherwise it will be difficult for his side. Respond to the Xuanfu cavalry crossing the river.

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

 On the one hand, I didn’t expect the Xuanfu army to be so fierce.

He originally expected that the opponent would have just reached the front line of Hongqiao at this time, and might not reach the front line of Yuhe and Gonghua City tomorrow morning. The soldiers were not tough. They sent troops from Yanqing Guard eastward to Gonghua City, even if they did not encounter any resistance along the line, but Baili It is impossible to walk down the ground without taking a break. Even a strong horse cannot bear it, let alone a human being.

On the other hand, he did not expect that the Beijing camp could actually fight such a beautiful blocking battle at the Yuhe Stone Bridge.

In his opinion, this is very bold. This is a field operation. 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, and the safest move is to hold on to Gonghua City. But this is true for He Huchen bold.

Not to mention his audacity, the key man was able to fight such a beautiful battle at the Yuhe Stone Bridge. If this guy didn't lie, he twice used the advantage of firearms to block the Xuanfu army, causing huge casualties to the Xuanfu army. The government army was actually blocked by the Yu River.

After the messenger left, You Shigong smiled and said to the surrounding generals: "It seems that I have underestimated the level of the new Beijing camp. The emperor has spent great efforts to rectify the Beijing camp. I still think it is a waste of food. Now it seems that I am narrow-minded.”

"Sir, this is the opponent's one-sided statement. The Xuanfu army is also an elite division. How can a Yu River stop their progress?" A general shook his head and expressed 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 attempt to cross the river through the stone bridge."

As the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, You Shigong is very familiar with the geographical terrain of the line from Yanqing Guards to the Capital City. The terrain of this line is flat and there is basically no danger to defend. The surface of the Yu River is not wide, so it is difficult to have much hindrance. However, Unexpectedly, the opponent was able to defend the bridge and defend it so beautifully.

"The Xuanfu army's 30,000 to 40,000 troops cannot be held back by a stone bridge. They can cross the river by setting up pontoons and boats. Once a cavalry crosses the river and hits He Huchen's troops from behind or from the side, he will not be able to bear it. He Huchen is smart. If so, we should consider quickly retreating to Gonghua City to defend it. To be honest, He Huchen's department has done a good job, even better than I imagined."

"Sir, once the Xuanfu army crosses the river, Gonghua City may not be able to resist it for long. I'm afraid we will be a little behind in catching up. Or should we go directly to Qinghedian?" Another general also made a suggestion.

Qinghedian is more than twenty miles east of Gonghua City, but there is no walled city and no stronghold there. It is only twenty miles away from the capital city.

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

You Shigong certainly understands this.

The change of wind direction in the capital city is even more important than the outcome of the war. Once Prince Yitada really gains support in the capital city and even directly supervises the country, the outcome of the war outside the city will be meaningless, but the latter is important to the former. It also had a huge impact, and Feng Ziying also specifically reminded him of this.

You Shigong nodded: "We must not give up Gonghua City. Shilu, you and Zhao Jian have all the cavalry and rush to Gonghua City immediately. Remember, do not enter the city and guerrilla attacks outside, forcing the Xuanfu army to attack the city with all its strength. This delay Wait until my army comes."

Both You Shilu and Zhao Jiangong understood the urgency of the situation. Eighty miles was no longer a short distance for the cavalry. The key was that they might not get any rest time once they got there, so they had to fight. This kind of wandering battle The fight places high physical demands on both the soldiers and the horses, and rushing over as quickly as possible means that they cannot bring supplies of forage, so they can only rely on the supplies of forage in Gonghua City.

But this means that the Xuanfu army’s blockade of Gonghua City must be broken in order to obtain it.

I can’t worry about so much now, I can only get over it first and then deal with it according to the situation.

Once Gonghua City is lost, the 30,000 troops in Jizhen will have almost nowhere to go. Qinghedian will definitely not be able to hold it. How can they retreat to the capital city? Not to mention whether the Jizhen army is allowed to enter the city. This is just a military defeat. , 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, take my military camp with you and let them set off first to protect Gonghua City." In the end, You Shilu made up his mind. If this battle fails, I am afraid that he, the general manager of Ji Town, will If the soldiers can't be kept, what's the use of keeping the personal soldiers around?

 (End of this chapter)