Seeing this scene, Qiu Yi was extremely frightened, and she couldn't help but regret in her heart: She had calculated everything, but in the end, everything was sparse. If she had thought of sending a sentry first to seize the crucial point of the Yellow River ferry, It wouldn't be like falling into this dilemma.
It rained continuously all night, and Qiu Yi was at a loss as to what to do. Just when he was waiting to invite the religious father and master, he saw a large cloud of smoke and dust rising from the direction of Anhe Town, and the faint sound of horse hooves on the ground could be heard in his ears. roar.
Now we have the Yellow River in front of us and the imperial army chasing us behind. We are really at the end of our rope!
When Qiu Yizhi thought of this, he couldn't help but secretly groan in his heart, but he still ordered more than a hundred of his men to set up a formation near the river, so as to fight like trapped beasts.
This group of officers and soldiers came very quickly, and in less than a moment they had arrived at the bank of the Yellow River.
Qiu Yizhi sat on his horse and looked closely, and saw that there were at least four to five thousand people in this group of people. If his group of tired soldiers were to confront them head-on, it would be like throwing an egg against a stone. So he hurriedly looked for flaws in the opponent's marching formation, hoping to find a weak point to rush out, escape to Qingzhou again, and then make long-term plans.
But he didn't expect that the imperial team was very different from the Anhe garrison that had just blocked him. In the blink of an eye, they had already formed a semicircle formation, surrounding Qiu Yi's men and horses beside the Yellow River. During this period, the formation was strict and the flags were clear. , Qiu Yizhi didn't let Qiu Yizhi find any flaws.
Only then did Qiu Yizhi realize that he had met a real opponent. He was already in despair and felt that the bank of the Yellow River was the place where he would be buried.
However, the officers and soldiers, who were already sure of victory, did not take action. Instead, they saw a military general calmly walking out of the battle formation and said loudly: "Is Prince Youyan among them?"
Qiu Yi heard it clearly in his ears and raised his eyes to see this general - wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, with a scarlet war robe underneath, sitting on a maroon high-headed horse, holding a silver spear in his right hand, and pressing a button with his left hand. On top of the sword at the waist; he looks to be in his forties, but he has a generous face, square jaw, plump cheeks, a long beard that flutters in the wind, and a pair of bright eyes - he looks like an upright and aboveboard soldier. appearance.
King Youyan Zheng Rong, who was sitting in the car, heard his voice and hurriedly got out of the car. He managed to support himself and stood on the shaft of the car and said, "I am here! It turns out that Dai Luanxiang and Marshal Dai are here. You and I are afraid We haven’t seen each other for ten years, right?”
Only then did Qiu Yizhi realize that the man in front of him was the only famous general in the Han Dynasty who could be compared with his adoptive father - Dai Luanxiang, the former general of the Forbidden Army. And because the Forbidden Army has ordinary Jiedu troops in different places, the four third-rank generals who command the four battalions of the Forbidden Army are often called marshals.
But when Dai Luanxiang heard what he said, he calmly bowed to his horse and said, "I am just one of the prince's subordinate generals. I should have greeted you with a courtesy. However, I am wearing armor and it is inconvenient for me to do so. Please forgive me."
Zheng Rong was still very weak. He coughed twice and continued: "You and I are both in the army, why should we take these false courtesy to heart? However, things are different today. In the past, you and I were comrades-in-arms and brothers, but today we have to fight against each other. , This world is ruthless, it’s really unpredictable!”
After hearing this, Dai Luanxiang seemed to be relieved and said: "It's good that the prince knows. The general has also received the decree of the current emperor and wants to invite the prince to return to the court. He also advises the prince to obey the imperial decree and not to make a big move here. I'm here. Although he is only a junior general, he still dares to ensure that no one dares to violate the prince's loyalty and filial piety on his way back to the capital. Besides, the prince's reputation for loyalty and filial piety is well known to the world. After the general returns to the capital, there will be a chapter to be heard in heaven to defend the prince. "
Although the two armies were facing each other, Dai Luanxiang was only twenty or thirty steps away from Zheng Rong, and every word he said reached Zheng Rong's ears clearly.
Although Zheng Rong was polite when he heard his words, his tone was very firm, as if there was no room for reply, so he sighed and said: "Marshal Dai's kindness, I accept it. But today's emperor may not be willing to listen to the marshal's words. . Although I am not talented, I am not willing to be a slave."
Dai Luanxiang heard this and replied: "Youdao is an unpredictable thing. I remember that when the Turks went south, their generals were defeated with their commanders. They lost their troops and humiliated the country. They were about to be punished. At this time, the prince wrote to Beique, stating all his interests and benefits. The late emperor Ying Ming, please forgive us for our sins and let the generals take credit for their merits. This matter is still fresh in my mind, and I dare not forget it at all." Dai Luanxiang seemed a little emotional as he spoke. Above the rank of general, what I committed today is just a small mistake. As long as the prince and the emperor explain it carefully, there will be a gracious purpose. "
Zheng Rong waved his hands and said: "That's what I said. With my merits as king and my relationship with the emperor's uncle, the emperor will still deal with me ruthlessly. Although Marshal Dai is the pillar of the imperial court, 'no one has ever done anything wrong'. If he occasionally commits a small crime, His Majesty When the wrath of thunder comes, I am afraid that no one will be able to defend the marshal. Although I am now at the end of my rope, I still want to advise the marshal to make plans early and not to make mistakes!"
Dai Luanxiang originally wanted to persuade Zheng Rong to go back with a few words to avoid a fight; but unexpectedly, Zheng Rong took over and persuaded him to leave a way out. Although he has always been known for his versatility in both civil and military affairs, his eloquence is not as good as that of Zheng Rong, who has been reading poetry and books since childhood. As for what he said, he suddenly became speechless and sat on the horse speechless.
When the atmosphere was delicate, a horse flashed out from behind Dai Luanxiang. The man on the horse held the command flag in his hand and scolded Dai Luanxiang at the top of his voice: "You are not done nagging here. The emperor's decree is to tell you to take Zheng Rong." Just go back and do it. Where does all this nonsense come from?”
Everyone looked at the man - he was white and fat, with a black mark the size of a broad bean on his right cheek, but no beard on his chin. He spoke with great joy, he was obviously a eunuch in the palace. —Can’t help but cast a look of disdain.
Dai Luanxiang was very respectful to this person. After listening to his words, he sighed and said loudly to Zheng Rong: "The prince has also seen it. The general is now entrusted with the imperial decree and does not dare to show any favoritism. Since the prince is unwilling to follow If I go back to the capital, then the general will have no choice but to offend him." After that, he sighed again, raised his silver gun and pointed it back.
When all the officers and soldiers saw Dai Luanxiang's order, they all shouted "order!" and slowly surrounded Zheng Rong, Qiu Yizhi and others.
Qiu Yizhi was surrounded by heavy siege. When he saw the more than 4,000 forbidden troops slowly pressing forward like an overwhelming force with neat steps and clear slogans, he secretly admired Dai Luanxiang for being so rigorous in running the army. He really deserves the title of a famous general of the Han Dynasty. I'm afraid Today, my life is handed down here.
When Qiu Yizhi was in despair, he suddenly thought of Yuchi Lianghong beside him, and hurriedly asked: "Brother is world-famous in martial arts. There is no need to die here with my little brother. You can run away by yourself!"
Yuchi Lianghong smiled bitterly and said: "Although Brother Yu has some confidence in Qinggong, he can only jump three feet away. When he fell into the army's formation, they chopped Brother Yu into a pulp with one knife. Alas! Life is just a fleeting moment. This time, as my dear brother, I have the chance to meet the two pillars of the imperial court, King Youyan and Marshal Dai, so this life is not in vain."
Although Qiu Yizhi heard that Yuchi Lianghong was helpless, his tone was very calm and calm, and he had the heroic spirit of looking forward to death, so he felt a little reassured. But Qiu Yizhi saw the imperial army pressing forward again, and he seemed to be able to feel the hot breath exhaled from the opponent's mouth. The despair before death came to his heart again, and he couldn't help but clenched the sword, hoping to fight to the death with the opponent in front of him. .
Just when everyone was on the verge of despair, a sharp arrow suddenly shot from the Yellow River, piercing the sky and shooting straight into the official formation. It fell on the bronze helmet of a Forbidden Army infantry standing at the forefront, "Dang" It bounced away far away with a sound.
However, Qiu Yizhi was less than ten steps away from the unfortunate imperial army. The sharp arrow that popped up fell just in front of his horse. He quickly lowered his head and saw that this short arrow was four and eight inches long, with a white wax rod as the shaft. , red paint for clothes, wild goose feathers for feathers, only the arrows flew to nowhere - exactly the arrows shot by the hard crossbows used by Youyan Taoist troops.
"It turns out that reinforcements from Youyan Dao are coming!" This thought flashed through Qiu Yizhi's mind, and he hurriedly ordered everyone: "Everyone dismount and crawl on the ground!" As he said this, he rolled off the saddle in great embarrassment and lay on his back. The ground was motionless.
Everyone heard that he would issue this inexplicable military order at this critical moment, but when they saw him lying on the ground immediately, they no longer hesitated, dismounted one after another, and lay motionless on the ground. Even Zheng Rong and Zhongli Kuang, who were sitting in the carriage, were lying on their backs on the soil with the help of others.
The Imperial Guards on the opposite side were originally wary of Youyan's elite soldiers, thinking that although they were outnumbered, they should not take it lightly. However, when they saw the other side suddenly lying on the ground, they were startled involuntarily and slowed down.
Dai Luanxiang, who was commanding the Chinese Army, was startled when he saw this scene. However, after all, he had experienced battles for a long time and quickly reacted. He loudly ordered: "The enemy has given up resistance. The troops have not yet moved forward. What more can be done?" hour?"
The imperial guards in the front row heard the order and started to move again. They took a few steps to capture Qiu Yizhi who was lying in the front.
At this critical moment, countless arrows were shot from above the Yellow River like locusts. The arrows did not shoot flatly. They passed behind the Youyan soldiers who were lying on the ground and rushed towards the official formation. In a blink of an eye, More than a hundred soldiers have been shot down. Before the imperial army could react, a second burst of arrows flew in overwhelmingly, and shot into the bodies of more than a hundred soldiers effortlessly.
When Dai Luanxiang saw it, he quickly looked ahead and saw countless warships lined up on the Yellow River. He could vaguely see countless soldiers standing on each warship, holding crossbows and arrows, and heading towards Aim and shoot here, and the Youyan Dao flag is clearly hanging on the mast of the warship.
Dai Luanxiang had heard that Youyan's crossbows were powerful. However, he visually observed that these warships were at least a hundred steps away from the bank of the Yellow River. They actually chose to shoot flatly and still have such power, which was beyond his expectation. Outside, he quickly ordered the messenger around him to ring the bell in his hand.
Advance with the beating of drums and retreat with the sound of gold. This is the military system since ancient times.
Upon hearing the order, the Imperial Guards under Dai Luanxiang quickly raised their shields high and retreated slowly and methodically. After retreating a hundred steps, they finally stood firm, rearranged their formation, and were ready. (To be continued)