Nighttime, west bank of the Yellow River.
Having made preparations, Chen Deze led his army and set fire to Hong Chengchou's camp on the opposite bank of the Yellow River.
He knew it was time for him to take action.
He then immediately ordered his troops to take the rafts and light boats they had prepared beforehand and begin crossing the river.
Chen Deze led his personal guards and the Yang family's troops across the river first, and then helped the other troops cross the river one after another.
It would be impossible for tens of thousands of troops to cross the river in a short period of time.
As night faded, the sun gradually rose.
Chen Deze's army also has a portion on the other side of the strait.
Chen Deze looked at the rising sun and anxiously urged them to cross the river as soon as possible.
But he froze before he could finish speaking.
Because he saw that the banners of Hong Chengchou's army had appeared in the distance and had already surrounded the area.
Seeing this, Chen Deze sighed deeply.
He knew that those people could at least restrain and interfere with Hong Chengchou's army.
But how could he have remained completely still all night?
Hong Chengchou looked at Chen Deze and his army opposite him.
He waved his military flag and ordered his troops to begin the attack.
However, the expected defeat did not occur.
On the contrary, under the desperate supervision of the opposing officers, his army's offensive was temporarily halted.
Hong Chengchou looked at the officers fighting desperately in the distance.
He immediately realized that the people on the other side were probably the same army that had tried to raid his camp last night.
The officers were all from the Yang family.
He really wanted to skin himself alive.
However, they won't be able to hold on for much longer.
The space was cramped and confined by his army, and their formation was in disarray after they forced their way across the river.
Even with high morale, they can't hold out for very long.
After witnessing this scene, Chen Deze was fully aware of his situation.
If their troops continue like this, defeat is inevitable.
Then he looked at Hong Chengchou's command flag in the distance, amidst Hong Chengchou's army.
He drew his sword and said:
"All my personal guards, and the sons of the Yang family, follow me and charge at the rebel leader's banner."
After saying that, he rushed toward Hong Chengchou's command flag, because he knew that no strategy would work at this point.
A chaotic army simply cannot have the ability to execute orders; at this moment, all that can be relied upon is the army's bravery.
When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one will prevail.
His personal guards immediately surrounded him and protected him.
The Yang family officers who were fighting at the front, though they hadn't heard Chen Deze's orders, were unaware of what had happened.
However, they saw that some people were starting to attack Hong Chengchou's banner.
They all followed and rushed over.
Hong Chengchou smiled disdainfully as he watched the army rushing towards his Gansu town.
Waving the military flag, he ordered the archers, who were already prepared, to fire their arrows.
At the same time, the army's heavily armored soldiers were instructed to hold their shields to defend themselves.
He also ordered the troops on the left and right flanks to continue to surround and kill the Gansu garrison soldiers who had already crossed the river.
As a volley of arrows rained down, a large number of Chen Deze's soldiers fell instantly.
Their charge was halted by the heavily armored soldiers.
As their attacks ceased, the encirclement of Hong Chengchou's army gradually tightened.
Their final fate was already sealed.
The capital city.
Li Qin looked at the messages coming from all sides.
I've been waiting for months, and the situation in the Northwest is still at a stalemate.
However, according to the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Gansu garrison had already seized all the edible food in the Hexi Corridor to supply the army.
But they've probably been almost completely eaten up, and now they have nowhere left to retreat.
Even if they retreated back to Gansu Town, they would eventually starve to death.
Now their only option is to risk crossing the river and gamble with Hong Chengchou.
However, the chances of winning are slim.
According to intelligence reports on food consumption, if the current food supplies in Gansu Town are being used up quickly, they will only last for the next few days.
If the energy expenditure is low, it can last for another half month at most.
They would have to fight to the death.
With his assurances, Liu Sixiu led his army back to Bashu after capturing Hanzhong, indicating that he had no designs on Guanzhong.
Hong Chengchou has gradually transferred most of his troops there.
He has now amassed 70,000 to 80,000 troops on the east bank of the Yellow River, almost twice the size of the Gansu garrison on the opposite bank. His scouts now roam the entire Yellow River basin.
Even if Chen Deze wanted to find another place to cross the river, he would be discovered.
Simply put, Chen Deze is basically doomed.
As for Jiangnan.
His planned northern expedition by the Nanjing court never came to pass.
Qi Jiguang's troops settled down in Fengyang after arriving there.
They have absolutely no intention of continuing north.
This is combined with the connections between most of the military personnel and the bureaucrats in Jiangnan.
He had already basically guessed Zhu Jianshen's thoughts.
That is to transfer as many troops as possible, those with close ties to the officials in Jiangnan, to Jiangbei.
To weaken their influence in Jiangnan.
Although the northern expedition by the Jiangnan court that pleased him did not come to pass.
However, their transfer of troops from Jiangnan to Jiangbei was also good news for him.
Jiangbei was his main target, and his army was attacking from both sides.
He was sent to Jiangbei to face his strongest attacking force from Jiangbei.
That would be suicide.
This also weakened the defenses of Jiangnan.
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