On the verge of despair

The peasant army had already seen the firearms under the command of the Living Hell. How could it be possible if it was not prepared? At the beginning, Zhang Dashou ordered the troops and horses of various units to act carefully and retreat immediately if they were covered by firepower.

Zhang Dashou is not a fool either. The new cannon in the hand of the Living Hell is simply a deadly knife. Attacking with such artillery fire is equivalent to seeking death. However, after a war, he did not see the officers and soldiers firing artillery, even if the fields were captured, no artillery shells fell on the high slopes. It is precisely because of this that Zhang Dashou made a wrong judgment. He thought that because of the heavy artillery, the officers and soldiers had not been able to cross the river. Without the threat of artillery, he had no scruples, so why not the army was pressing down and directly drove the Living Hell back to the river.

At the last moment, when the final attack was about to be launched, the terrifying roar exploded among the crowd. In order to take down the ferry terminal in one fell swoop, Zhang Dashou spread out almost half of the troops. At this time, the pier in the southern Maojindu was surrounded by several miles in a radius, and almost all of them were peasant soldiers, densely packed, making people feel trembling. At this time, the shells fell and there was almost no need to aim at them, and there would be a harvest.

The sound of roars, and the heart trembled again and again. Yuan Ma's eyes were red, as if he was bloodthirsty, but this time it was not because of bloodthirsty, but because of fear. Standing on the high slope and looking around, it was full of dust and smoke, flesh and blood flying, screams, scolding, and crying one after another. The soft soil was lifted up, leaving behind large pits, and many pits became ready-made graves, burying people directly.

A shell exploded several feet away, and the soil splattered, and the air waves were wrapped in a breath of blood, curling their hair. The face was a little wet, Yuan Ma touched his cheeks, and then he was stunned. The minced meat in his hands was full of bright red, like beating insect eggs.

Under such artillery fire, people are so fragile, no matter how powerful the warrior is, they are just an ant. Yuan Ma was stunned, but Xu Bin, the deputy next to him, was already panicked, "Brother Yuan... No, retreat, retreat..."

"Retreat..." Yuan Ma couldn't help but tremble, and the scene in front of him reminded him of the bloody battle at Mizhi City. At that time, the Living Hell was just a young general in the border army, just a garrison. At that time, everyone didn't think what the Living Hell could do. But, the Living Hell led the way and beat him in an unfavorable situation, Yuan Ma ran away with his head in his arms.

The Living King of Hell is usually lukewarm, but he is even more cruel than Yuan Ma when he is desperate. He actually hid the cannons until now. He didn't use them before, but he just wanted to lead the army to the narrow south bank to fight to the decisive battle.

Isn't it said that artillery is not suitable for the shore as a position? Why does the artillery of the Living Hell keep firing? With a bang, another shell exploded not far away, and several peasant soldiers lying on the ground wailingly. Listening to the painful shouts, Yuan Ma's heart was about to break open. Withdraw, retreat quickly, and then continue to fight, all the thousands of brothers who had finally gathered under his command were gone.

Yuan Ma retreated, Zhang Yichuan, Wei Yang, and Du Wen also retreated. There was no way, the casualties were too great. However, when he returned to the high ground of the field, Yuan Ma and others were scolded by Zhang Dashou. At this time, Zhang Dashou was also very distressed, but he was still very angry at the behavior of his generals retreating privately. "Why should we withdraw? Without the order of generals?"

Yuan Ma slapped and whispered: "That kind of artillery is so terrible... Brothers have suffered too many casualties..."

Before Yuan Ma finished speaking, Zhang Da was locked with a brow and stared at everyone with a cold face, "The casualties are too serious? Then you can retreat? Now the soldiers of the Living Hell are trapped near the dock, and you only need a last blow to drive them back to the north shore. So what if you have too serious casualties? Retreat at this time, then will our previous brothers be killed or injured in vain?"

Zhang Dashou's words were like enlightenment, which woke Yuan Ma and others up. Yes, the war was about to be so strong that it was almost trembling, and no matter how difficult it was, it would have to hold on. Similarly, this is the last chance for the Living Hell to stay on the south bank, and the resistance was definitely the most intense. After trying to get through the joints, Zhang Yichuan said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, leader Zhang, please wait for a moment, and I will take people up immediately."

"Well..." Zhang Dashou finally had a good face, nodded, and waved his hand impatiently, "Brothers, everyone must know how difficult it is to live Hell. If he is asked to chase us, we will definitely be the one who is unlucky in the end. Since we have the opportunity to block him back now, we must seize it. For your future and future, work hard!"

Yuan Ma and others raised their heads in a heavy mood, their eyes full of determination. At this moment, they no longer had the will to retreat and drove the living Hell back, not for others, but for themselves.

Under Zhang Dashou's strict order, after only half an hour of rest, the peasant army gathered again and rushed towards the dock position with a loose formation. This time, he was obviously prepared and the formation dispersed. At a distance, although the sound of artillery sounded across the entire battlefield again, the casualties were much smaller.

On the high platform, Tie Mo held a thousand-mile mirror and looked at the battle situation in the distance. Gradually, his mood became heavier. Sure enough, the battlefield was the best teacher. After only a few contacts, the peasant army had already mastered how to deal with artillery fire.

The formation is loose and stretched very wide, and the attack power will inevitably be affected. However, the bandits can hold on to this wave of attack, but they can't afford it. Could it be that I, I, a man, traveled across the north and was about to be driven back in shame when I crossed the Yellow River for the first time?

Although he was unwilling to give up, Tiemo was actually mentally prepared. It was better to be embarrassed than to be too serious. He could not compare with those of Zhang Dashou. The peasant army had the most lacking soldiers, sweeping all over the land and creating refugees, and soon he could raise more than 100,000 troops. However, the soldiers and horses under his command were all trained and piled up with real money.

"Hey, it seems that the south bank ferry cannot be defended. Dingshan, please inform the shore troops to prepare to pick up the army. In addition, tell your wife to try to raise the baggage and prepare to go south from the east to the Yellow River!"

Tiemo was ready to retreat, while Zhang Dashou felt much better on the other side. As one went up and down, the peasant army's offensive became more and more rapid. If He Jingyuan had not made up his mind to pour the shells down, it would be hard to say whether he could have persisted until the next day.

As evening arrived, accompanied by the remaining fire in the sky, both sides had a tacit understanding of the fight. Until now, neither side could hold on and continue to stop and take a breath. The reason for this was that Zhang Dashou had suppressed all his troops. If he left enough reserves, he could attack continuously. However, if he did not rely on the advantage of military strength to put pressure on the opponent, he would probably not be able to suppress the elite troops under the command of the Living King of Hell.

At night, insects roared, and the surging river water flowed in front of us. The ancient long river roared silently under the starry sky. Tiemo was not sleepy at all because he didn't know whether the retreat would go smoothly tomorrow. It would be impossible to return to the north shore from the nose of the peasant army without paying some price.

The galaxy was densely covered with the sky, and the feet suddenly became soft and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, the body was flexible and he stabilized his body to the side. The Yellow River embankment was disrepair for a long time. If it was a year of abundant water, it would probably break the dam. Scratching his head, he could only smile bitterly. Thinking about it this way, it is a good thing that years of droughts have been drought, at least the Yellow River has not had floods recently.

Walking through a low reed land, occasionally a patrol team walked by. He was a little far away from the command post. He was about to go back, but he found a figure on the edge of the river bank. The man bent over, as if observing the river water under his feet. When he got closer and saw the figure of the man, Tie Mo couldn't help but be stunned. He really didn't expect to meet Dai Qimeng here.

It turned out to be her! Tie Mo was puzzled. In the middle of the night, Dai Qimeng ran here for what? The heavy footsteps alarmed Dai Qimeng. She trembled slightly and turned her head with some vigilance. After seeing the person clearly, she patted her heart gently. The moonlight was weak, and she held her chest with bare hands, which was full of temptation. For a moment, Tie Mo was stunned and a little confused. But she returned to Qingming Festival in an instant and coughed twice awkwardly.

"Miss Dai, it's getting late, why are you here? I just saw you staring at the river, but what are your thoughts?"

Dai Qimeng gave a little blessed, stepped back, put her slender hand on her waist, and smiled faintly: "The war has been tragic in the past two days. I have never experienced such a thing. I really can't adapt. If I can't sleep, I'll just walk around."

"Oh?" Tie Mo came to Dai Qimeng's original position with his hands behind his back, squatted down and looked at it. He saw that the river was turbulent here, and he didn't notice anything special. "Miss Dai's hobbies are quite interesting. He stared at the river in the middle of the night."

Tie Mo joked, Dai Qimeng knew that she had no malice, so she would not be angry. "I let the supervisor laugh at him. Just now, I was just thinking about something. The supervisor took a closer look, what is the difference here?"

Seeing Dai Qimeng being serious, Tiemo couldn't help but observe carefully. With the moonlight, the general outline of the nearby terrain was revealed in front of him. After thinking about it, he replied: "The terrain here is high, and the water flow is about to be fast."

"Yes, have the supervisor ever thought about what would happen if the water here was directed to the south by using the method?" Dai Qimeng's voice was very soft, but when these words fell into Tie Mo's ears, it caused a storm. Once the water from the high Yellow River is led over and the river water flows backwards, it will inevitably flood the nearby areas that are in the low places. The peasant army in the south is the first to be affected.

"This... do you have a way to make the Yellow River turn from here?" Tie Mo looked at Dai Qimeng with a complicated expression. The moonlight was dim and she could not see the expression on the other person's face. She only heard her whisper: "I am not that powerful when I let the river turn, but I have learned some water diversion methods from my father since I was a child. It should be no problem to temporarily lure the water from a high place. Borrowing back water should be able to withstand for a while..."

"But in doing so, the bandits will retreat, but can the people near Wuzhou still have good luck?"

Dai Qimeng was stunned for a moment, and then replied, "When the Supervisor ordered Geng Zhongming to burn the bandits, he did not have such compassion..."

"That's because there is no need to hurt innocent people. Miss Dai, don't mention the water diversion matter. Even if Tiemo returns to the north bank and crosses the river, he will not flow back to the south bank. People who go to the state of Wuzhou are suffering from the suffering of life." Tiemo looked at Dai Qimeng deeply and pointed at the other party with deep meaning, "Miss Dai, don't forget that we are righteous men and we can't act like bandits. If it is not necessary, it's better not to create too many fearless casualties."

......

Just as the battle continued on the south bank of Maojin Ferry, there was also a fierce debate at Hangu Pass.

After learning about the dilemma faced by the Xuanfu army, after careful consideration, Henan General Ding Luyan made a bold decision, proposing to divide his troops to attack the rear of the thief soldiers and resolve the dilemma of the Xuanfu army. However, this proposal was opposed by most generals.

General Cao E said hurriedly: "General Ding, this matter is absolutely impossible. After the previous battle, my Hangu Pass had only more than 6,000 guards. There was not enough to defend Hangu Pass. Where did the extra troops come from to rescue Xuanfu? Luoyang needs to concentrate troops against Gao Yingxiang's troops. Even if a thousand soldiers cannot be separated, we must not risk going out of the pass."

Guerrilla General Luo Heng also advised: "Yes, I heard that the border troops under the Iron Supervisor's army are good at fighting and have few defeats. Although the bandits occupy Mianchi, they may not be able to get any advantage in front of the Xuanfu army."

Ding Luyan raised his hand and stopped everyone from talking. In fact, he also understood the thoughts of most people. As long as they keep Hangu Pass firmly, there will be no mistakes, but once they divide their troops, it means taking risks. How many people are willing to do such a thing? The battle situation at the Maojin Ferry Crossing South Bank Ferry is not a secret, and these people know it in their hearts, but they still pretend not to know. After all, the matter involves their own interests and they don’t care about other people.

Ding Luyan also has his own considerations and selfish intentions, but he sees farther than these people. "Please listen to what Ding said. Most of the Iron Supervisors are northern cavalry, and the Maojindu area cannot be implemented at all. If we do not help, the Iron Supervisors may be forced to retreat to the north bank."

"Do you still know what the situation is now? The bandit Gao Yingxiang has already passed Fangzhou with more than 100,000 troops. In order to protect Ruzhou, the Commander Office has no time to take care of our Hangu Pass at all. On the other hand, what about us? It seems safe at the moment, but in fact it will soon fall into a desperate situation."

"The main army used by the bandit king has bypassed the southern part of Wuzhou. Do you think they will really attack Luoyang? Have you ever thought about what would happen if the bandits did not attack Luoyang and rushed towards my Hangu Pass from the south?"

"At that time, my Hangu Pass will be cut off from the north and south, and the materials in the pass will only be enough for half a month. In other words, the bandits do not need to be fought at that time, but only need to trap us for a month. Hangu Pass will be broken without attack. Hangu Pass falls and Wuzhou will not be protected. What will happen at that time? You won't expect it?"

As Ding Luyan told the story, everyone gradually fell into silence. Once Hangu Pass was broken, the whole world was shocked, and no one guarding Hangu Pass could escape and would be held accountable. It would be fine if he died in battle. If he was alive, he would not only be punished by himself, but also implicate his family and be unlucky.
Chapter completed!