Then, regardless of the slippery muddy ground due to the rain, the cavalry lined up in a horizontal line and rode forward. The officers stayed behind and shouted, demanding that the fleeing soldiers in front turn back and line up immediately, while the vast majority of the long-sword cavalry, however, faced the fleeing soldiers without haste or delay, and moved forward calmly, and then as soon as they came into contact with the fleeing army formation, they hacked and killed them wantonly.
For a moment, the official road under the southern mountains of our mountain was littered with broken limbs and bodies, and the noise caused was even louder than the previous battle, especially the wailing sounds which were even more terrifying.
But no matter what, the defeated soldiers were quickly reorganized, and the soldiers who had chased out of the Song army camp in front of the bridge immediately gave up the pursuit and turned back to defend.
The situation stabilized a little. Li Cheng was not in a hurry, but he actually glanced at Hong Ya beside him. Seeing that the other party's expression did not change, he stroked his beard and sighed, and he showed a little more respect to him.
"Mr. Hong, please wait a moment." A moment later, several cavalrymen with long swords carrying shining swords drove over an officer in fine armor. Seeing this, Li Cheng first said goodbye to Hong Ya, then turned around and spoke to the officer in front of the horse. "Where are Wu Shun and Du Yan? Why did you lose to such an extent?"
"Brother Du is dead!" Wu Shun was lying in the mud in front of his horse, soaked by the rain, his feet were in the mud, and he was panting. He looked very embarrassed, but because he had several long swords at his side and Li Cheng was in front, he had to explain hurriedly. "Let the commander know that it's not that we didn't do our best, but that this Song army is not an ordinary place, but the trusted imperial guards of Emperor Zhao! So even though there are only two thousand of them, they have been able to hold our five or six thousand Mizhou soldiers tightly for two days..."
Li Cheng and Hong Ya, who had been holding back their stance, finally changed color at the same time. They had originally crossed the river to launch a surprise attack, coming in the rain, and then suddenly engaged in a battle for a day and a night. Even if they had sporadic intelligence, how could they determine the origin of this elite force in front of them?
In fact, on that day in Yanggu, Zhang Maode just thought it was the "royal army" from Tokyo, but he didn't know that it was the imperial guards.
After all, unless one had direct or indirect contact with the official, who would believe that the officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty would be willing to throw away their own guards as consumables?
When they came back to the present, Li and Hong both changed color. Hong Ya regained his composure immediately, but Li Cheng couldn't help but scolded him harshly: "How did you know it was the imperial guard?"
"Let the commander know that it was the government troops who confessed!" Wu Shun kowtowed and answered. "We fought for half a morning today. We thought we could keep fighting, but when both sides were exhausted, the enemy led his personal guards to hide behind the government soldiers on the front line. No matter how tragic the front line was, they just didn't move. When my brother ordered the soldiers in the front to rotate, they suddenly took advantage of the situation and rushed straight to my brother... But my brother was caught off guard and was killed by him! At this time, the warriors beside the man shouted that the one who killed my brother was Yang Yizhong, the commander of the imperial guards and the head of the Imperial City Division!"
Li Ben instinctively sneered: "How do you know he is not taking advantage of the situation to bluff you defeated soldiers? If you hadn't heard that it was the imperial guards, why would you have dispersed to this extent?"
"I'm not bluffing. It's probably true." At this moment, Hong Ya suddenly spoke and made an assertion.
Li Cheng turned around and was slightly startled: "Mr. Hong...?"
"Yang Yizhong must have received the direct order of the Zhao Song official to come here." Hong Ya answered with a proud look. "And I, Hong, am a humble man, but I was defeated by the Zhao Song official in Changsha. That day, under Changsha City, I saw the Zhao Song official's dragon flag from afar. Like General Li, I didn't believe it, but I led a hundred cavalrymen to penetrate the formation to observe the situation. When I arrived in front of the dragon flag, more than half of the hundred cavalrymen were killed or injured, but I could see clearly... From that day on, I knew that the temperament of the official in Dongjing City was not like that of a descendant of the Zhao family! And today, Yang Yizhong led the imperial guards here, which is exactly the right way!"
Li Cheng still hesitated.
Hong Ya was not in a hurry, but twirled his beard and sneered: "Even if the Grand Commander cannot trust me, he should at least trust the fifteen Meng Ans who were killed in front of Changsha City!"
Li Cheng finally said solemnly: "So, the guards in front are really the imperial guards?"
Hong Ya still sneered: "I know the Emperor of Zhao Song, so I am willing to believe it!"
Li Cheng looked up to the sky and sighed, "If that's the case, won't this battle be difficult?"
Hong Ya was slightly startled, and squinted at the other party: "What do you mean by that, Grand Commander?"
Li Cheng immediately sighed and said, "Mr. Hong, think about it, the imperial guards are the best soldiers in the world, how elite are they? If they insist on defending, how can we easily break through?"
"We have 20,000 troops, but the enemy only has 1,000 or 2,000 troops, and they don't have a river to defend themselves, but a river to defend their camp. How can even the elite troops hold out?" Hong Ya laughed. "Didn't we kill 200 or 300 of them on the spot when we suddenly engaged in battle yesterday? Even if the Mizhou troops were defeated today, there would be no casualties?"
Li Cheng finally smiled: "Mr. Hong, I am not saying that we cannot defeat them, but the imperial guards are so elite that even if we wear them down, the chance of victory will be lost. Moreover, they should have asked for help yesterday. By then, they may not have been worn down yet, and reinforcements may have arrived..."
Hong Ya continued to twirl his beard and smiled: "If that's the case, how about leaving the Mizhou soldiers to guard the imperial guards, and we force a crossing from Huajiakou downstream and attack Pingyin directly from the flank?"
Li Cheng shook his head and continued to smile: "The Mizhou soldiers have suffered such a defeat, how can they keep an eye on the imperial guards?"
Hong Ya finally stopped laughing: "In that case, why don't you and I withdraw our troops and return to Liaocheng, north of the Yellow River?"
This is very vicious... If 20,000 people hurriedly crossed the Yellow River, but were forced back to the north bank of the Yellow River by 2,000 squads within two days, I am afraid that the Jin army on the north bank of the Yellow River might be able to cut off Li Cheng directly in Liaocheng!
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