Although some generals said that Wang Qi's southern army had not yet arrived, and it was not appropriate to take the risk of blocking them, Song Qiang still insisted on sending troops immediately.
There are a total of 100,000 horses in the Northwest camp, Song Qiang left 50,000 horses behind, and led 50,000 people to rush to Jinghe overnight to stop Pan Meichen.
Among the 50,000 horses, there were 20,000 infantrymen and 30,000 cavalrymen, without torches or lanterns, silently marching along the small path with their horses biting their heads.
Before dawn, we arrived at the south bank of Jinghe Niutoushan.
The Jing River is about ten feet wide, and its water is waist-deep. Although it snows, the river is not frozen. The river is fast-moving, and you need to hold hands one by one. If you are not careful, you may be washed away by the river.
The lieutenant rode beside Song Qiang, with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "General Song, do we have to wait for Pan Meichen's army to cross the river? Otherwise, when we cross the river, Pan Meichen's vanguard will set up defenses on the south bank and cut off our way back. Pan Meichen led the cavalry to attack, and our entire army might be wiped out."
It's not that Song Qiang didn't think of this situation. But he firmly believed that Pan Meichen would definitely cross the river, and Wang Qi's Southern Army would arrive soon. At that time, even if Pan Meichen wanted to stop them on the north bank, the South Army would help.
"The opportunity must not be missed. If Pan Meichen is allowed to occupy Niutoushan and lose his important strategic position, the plan of attacking Pan Meichen from the north and the south may fail! Don't hesitate any longer, and quickly order the infantry and cavalry to cross the river immediately!"
After crossing for an hour, all 50,000 horses and horses crossed the river. Song Qiang ordered to march to Niutoushan immediately.
Niutoushan is a gentle mountain, but it is actually just a slope with a high middle and stretching sides, a bit like a bull's head, so it is called Niutoushan. Seeing that Niutoushan is right in front of him, Song Qiang couldn't restrain his excitement on his face, and immediately pointed to the front and shouted:
"Niutoushan is coming soon, everyone work harder, we will have dinner on Niutoushan!"
From the night before until it was almost dawn, fifty thousand people had not eaten anything, and everyone was tired, sleepy and hungry. The snow is still falling, and at a glance, there is a vast expanse of whiteness. In this white world, people seem to lose their sense of space, and it is difficult to distinguish where is south, east, north and west.
When he came to the foot of the mountain, Song Qiang was about to rush up the mountain. Suddenly, two cannons sounded from the mountain, and the flames shot up into the sky, shining like daytime. With the light of the torch, Song Qiang could see the flag flying on the mountain, with a large character written in seal script on it: "Pan"!
Song Qiang's war horse jumped up and screamed, his eyes filled with ominous premonition.
"Why is there Pan Meichen's army on the mountain?"
Just when Song Qiang and others were terrified, surrounded by the rebels, a general stood out in front. Wearing a golden chain mail, a golden sun helmet on his head, and a breastplate on his chest, it is shining brightly even in the dark.
The man had a full beard, and his eyes were as big as copper bells, piercing and piercing, as if he was lighting two oil lamps, and his speech was even more powerful.
"The person under the mountain is Song Qiang?"
Name the surname and ask Song Qiang to answer.
Song Qiang was taken aback for a moment. If Pan Meichen is on the mountain, it means that Pan Meichen has seen through all his plans.
"I'm Song Qiang, what do you want?"
Pan Meichen grinned, her eyes were sinister and fierce.
"Do you want to capture Niutoushan, occupy a favorable position, and stop me on the south bank when I cross the Jing River? So that you can attack from north to south?"
Now that Pan Meichen has seen through the plan, Song Qiang has nothing to hide anymore.
He waved the big knife in his hand, pointed at Pan Meichen and cursed:
"Pan Meichen, you are an ambitious wolf. You want to go south again and again to seize the throne. You are the enemy of the Great Jing Kingdom and the people of the Great Jing Kingdom. Everyone will be punished! If you fall into my hands today, don't even think about running away! If you are sensible, Come down the mountain quickly, kowtow to me a few times, call me grandpa three times, and I will spare your life, intercede for you in front of the emperor, and let you be a county magistrate or something. If you persist in your obsession, I will chop you into three pieces. part!"
Pan Meichen snorted and curled her lips: "It's hard to say who was cut into three sections today! To be honest with you, you are already surrounded by me. The South Bank has been controlled by my vanguard. If you want to go back, that is I can't go back! How about you give me three bangs, I will spare your life and let you be a lieutenant by my side, what do you think?"
Song Qiang's eyes widened, and he spat on the ground: "Damn! I, Song Qiangsheng, are from the Great Jing Kingdom, and my death is a ghost from the Great Jing Kingdom! Unlike you, I'm not as good as a beast!"
At this moment, cheers suddenly came from the south bank. Song Qiang looked towards the south bank, and there was a fire on the opposite side, like a long dragon. Song Qiang estimated that there were no more than 10,000 rebels on the south bank! But why did the information he got say that there were only 5,000 people
Everyone in the army had a look of panic on their faces.
Pan Meichen seemed to see the confusion on Song Qiang's face, holding a big knife in one hand, and stroking his beard like steel nails with the other: "Let me tell you, I deliberately lured you to cross the river with 5,000 people, but in fact I sent more than 5,000 people to cross the river." There are more than 10,000 troops standing on the opposite bank, and each of them has 200 arrows in their quiver bags. Do the math, how many arrows are there for 10,000 people? So many arrows are shooting at you , what do you think will happen?"
Pan Meichen got Ziyan's information and knew that the southern army was going north to attack him, so he first made a plan to coax Song Qiang into crossing the river and defeat Song Qiang's northern army first.
If the northern army loses, then the southern army, which is relatively weak in combat effectiveness, will be easy to deal with.
Song Qiang can't retreat now, otherwise the army will be wiped out if the rebels on the south bank shoot arrows at them halfway through the river. Going forward, there is Niutoushan blocking the front!
Song Qiang looked at the 50,000 horses behind him. Apart from exhaustion, there was panic on the faces of the sergeants. They were blocked back and forth. How could there be a way out
What made Song Qiang even more desperate was that Pan Meichen hadn't told him yet.
Pan Meichen pointed to the sky in the northwest, with a smug smile spreading across her entire face, "Song Qiang, are you still waiting for the army from the Northwest Camp to rescue you? Can you take a look over there?"
Song Qiang looked northwest and saw that the sky was red, as if scorched by fire.
"Then... what's going on?"
Pan Meichen sneered: "I just wanted to deal with your Northwest Camp when I took down Waqiao Pass. I specially arranged tens of thousands of cavalry to lie in ambush near the camp, and wait for you to be transferred from the mountain before they will attack your camp." Battalion launched an attack. It is estimated that the Northwest Camp has been burned to the ground by my army, hahahaha!"
Near dawn, when people were sleeping soundly, the rebel army suddenly launched an attack. The northern army was completely defenseless and had no resistance at all. It is conceivable that the northern army awakened by the fire was like a flock of sheep. Pan Meichen's rebel army Chase and kill.
Song Qiang felt his heart ache, and his eyes turned black. He suppressed the grief in his heart, and shouted at Pan Meichen: "You traitor, I will definitely capture you alive, skin and cramps!"
With a move of the hand: "Brothers, rush up the mountain and capture Pan Meichen alive!"
With a whoosh, more than 50,000 people rushed up Niutou Mountain together. As soon as they reached the middle of the mountain, their feet suddenly sank, the sky collapsed and the earth collapsed, and both people and horses fell into the horse pit. The screams of people, the neighing of horses, Mixed together, the peaceful dawn was filled with these two sounds.