People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1655: Crossing Mianchi and Heading to Luoyang

The sky was slightly bright and the morning breeze was cool.

Li Xuan stood at Xishi Pass with a solemn expression, wearing black clothes and black armor, with a white silk tied on his head.

Outside the pass, Pei Shaoye's soldiers retreated after a night of regular attacks and the country was temporarily quiet.

Inside the pass, countless people in black armor stood solemnly, their armor swaying and their war horses neighing softly.

"Everyone." Li Xuan leaned heavily on the spear in his hand.

The densely packed cavalry extending for miles all said solemnly at the same time: "Yes!"

A loud rumbling sound echoed between heaven and earth, and in the military camp at the foot of the mountain in the distance, there was a sudden commotion.

Li Xuan didn't pay attention to the noise. He just looked at the soldiers in front of him calmly and said softly, "Since the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, we have been on the Western Expedition, from Tuyuhun, Tubo, and the Western Regions. Now you have followed me back to Chang'an.

The world always seems to be uneasy.

As soon as the external threat was quelled, internal strife arose again. It seemed that God was always unwilling to let us go. Even Emperor Zhongzong died in the civil strife.

Now we are about to march to Luoyang.

If Luoyang is pacified, the whole world will be at peace.

Everyone, for yourselves, for your own families, and finally for Emperor Zhongzong.

Now, follow me and rush to Luoyang.

Put down the rebellion, stabilize the world, and avenge Emperor Zhongzong."

"Put down the rebellion, stabilize the world, and avenge Emperor Zhongzong." Countless people raised their swords and spears at the same time and shouted loudly: "Revenge, revenge, revenge!"

Li Xuan turned around suddenly and shouted, "Open the city gates and kill!"

"Kill!" With a loud bang, the gate of Xishi Pass opened in an instant.

In an instant, the cavalry, like a black tide, rushed out from Xishi Pass and headed straight towards Luoyang.

……

In front of the military camp, Pei Shaoye quickly mounted his horse and rushed to the front of the camp. His breathing finally became a little calmer.

Countless deer antlers blocked the path of the charging cavalry.

Further ahead, the Lianchang River was flowing slowly. The river was thirty meters wide and bottomless.

On the other side of the river, a forward camp stood on the west bank of Lianchang River, and a stone bridge connected the east and the west.

Pei Shaoye could quickly reach the west bank to support the front camp.

Countless cavalrymen followed behind Pei Shaoye, looking at the countless black waves rushing out of Xishi Pass with solemn eyes.

The military camp was located southeast of Xishi Pass, along the foot of the mountain to Mianchi.

The Lianchang River behind the military camp flows down to the Luo River further below, extending fifty miles back and forth.

That’s right, fifty miles.

Pei Shaoye's gaze fell on another military camp twenty miles away.

There, Xin Siye led another 10,000 people to deploy defenses on both sides of the Lianchang River, and there was also a bridge connecting the east and the west.

However, from here to Xin Siye's place, one stepped dam after another quickly raised the river water and intercepted it at the same time.

When you reach the downstream, the river water is shallower and you can even cross the river bank and reach the east of Lianchang River.

When we got there, we could clearly see that Pei Shaoye was preparing to store water for an attack.

Pei Shaoye didn't care if his secret was discovered by Li Xuan.

Li Xuan rushed out from Xishi Pass today, not for anything else, but to break through the defense lines of Lianchang River and Hancheng River arranged by Pei Shaoye, and directly reach the city of Luoyang, so he had to rush across the river bank.

Rushing into the trap with endless danger.

Pei Shaoye raised his gaze and looked at the Luo River in the distance.

Further east, a hint of a sail can still be seen.

That was the Dengzhou navy. They were ready to pounce at any time when Li Xuan's cavalry fell into the trap.

Then they used the crossbows and catapults on the navy's ships to carry out a more comprehensive massacre against them.

In Mianchi, there are 5,000 cavalry reinforcements coming from behind, who can launch a surprise attack from Mianchi at any time.

Directly charge at Li Xuan’s central army.

This will be a bloody fight.

Pei Shaoye licked his lips subconsciously.

He is ready.

Even if he had to bury all 25,000 of his men here, he would still defeat Li Xuan.

……

Raising his head, Pei Shaoye looked at the black cavalry on the opposite side that was like a black tide.

A cavalry force of two thousand men slowly pressed towards the military camp from the higher hillside, but did not rashly launch an attack.

The most important thing for cavalry is speed. Without speed, they will become targets for bows and snipers.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Pei Shaoye's eyes.

To be honest, he hoped that Li Xuan could lead his troops to launch a surprise attack on him.

Because Pei Shaoye had set up countless traps in the opposite camp.

Deer horns, gullies, tripwires, caltrops, and so on and so forth, Pei Shaoye has prepared all the traps that can be thought of.

He also has 10,000 cavalrymen behind him, so if he really fights with Li Xuan, he will not be much weaker than him.

Not to mention that he had intercepted some water from the upper reaches of the Lianchang River in the distant mountains. As long as Li Xuan dared to rush down, Pei Shaoye could split his cavalry into two. At that time, the cavalry would charge in panic and easily win a great victory.

But unfortunately, this place is too close to Xishi Pass.

No matter what Pei Shaoye did, it was difficult to hide from Li Xuan's sight.

After all, there were endless scout fights every day, and the most deaths were among Pei Shaoye's men.

But this is exactly what he wants.

With the entire military camp and Mianchi County east of Hancheng River as the northern defense center, if Li Xuan wants to pass Lianchang River and Hancheng River as quickly as possible, he must lead his troops south.

Moreover, the only place he could choose to cross the river was a section of the 20-mile river from Zhonghe Town to the south of Luo River.

If he were in the upper reaches, Li Xuan would be attacked from both the north and the south by Xin Siye and Pei Shaoye.

As a result, they were at a tactical disadvantage.

Although he had not been in Xishi Pass for long, Pei Shaoye had gradually discovered some of Li Xuan's weaknesses.

After all, there were too few absolutely loyal right guards under Li Xuan.

Once these right guards suffered heavy casualties, the morale of Li Xuan's cavalry would be shaken.

When that time comes, it will be time for Pei Shaoye to hunt down Li Xuan.

He was confident enough to win this battle.

"Order to send 3,000 cavalrymen south along Lianchang River to support General Xin." Pei Shaoye turned aside and began to mobilize the troops: "The rest of the cavalrymen will charge downstream every quarter of an hour. After the cavalrymen, the infantrymen will follow. Move quickly."

"Yes!" The guard behind him bowed, then turned around and passed the order. Pei Shaoye squinted his eyes and looked at the Xishi Pass where people were still rushing out, his eyes flashing with endless indifference.

……

Surrounded by countless black cavalrymen, Li Xuan galloped downstream at high speed.

Wearing the same black clothes and black armor, with a sword and a long spear in hand, if it weren't for the big banner behind him, I'm afraid no one would be able to find Li Xuan.

The hills undulated, and Li Xuan's gaze passed over the military camp in the middle reaches of the Lianchang River.

There seemed to be more cavalry ready there.

The stepped dams arranged on the river channel are clearly visible.

Those were the remaining means Li Xuan had, but now someone was using them against him.

It's ridiculous.

Li Xuan just glanced at it and stopped paying attention.

He looked back at the lower reaches of the Lianchang River and at the Luo River further away, his expression solemn.

Then he lowered his body and rode his horse forward at high speed.

Charge forward, charge forward.

By rushing down from the foot of the mountain, the cavalry could easily increase their speed.

Cavalry wins by speed, and often times, a slight difference in cavalry speed can lead to completely different results.

The sound of the wind kept ringing in my ears.

Twenty thousand black-armored cavalrymen rushed down from Xishi Pass like a torrent, and their force was irresistible.

That’s right, twenty thousand.

Li Xuan turned his head slightly and glanced at Xishi Pass.

A familiar figure stood there, and seemed to sense the connection and bowed slightly.

Southern Torch.

The person stationed there now is none other than General Nan Ju of Youtunwei who was previously in Shanzhou.

There is only one explanation for Nan Ju's appearance at Xishi Pass, and that is that Shanzhou City has been completely breached.

That’s right, Shanzhou City was completely breached.

The troops in Shanzhou City either became prisoners or joined Li Xuan's army.

After all, we are all cavalrymen of the Tang Dynasty, and it doesn't matter who we serve.

As soon as Shanzhou was captured, Nan Ju immediately led his troops to reinforce Li Xuan.

The reinforcement of 5,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry greatly increased the military strength under Li Xuan's command.

Li Xuan had no intention of getting entangled with Xin Siye and others. The cavalry quickly crossed the river and then headed downstream at a high speed.

The horses charged, their speed increasing.

Instead of crossing the river from the middle of the river to a point between the Luo River and the Luo River as Pei Shaoye and Xin Siye had expected, they continued to go down and down.

The place where they crossed the river was actually near the Luo River.

The mighty cavalry finally left Xishi Pass.

Pei Shaoye was stunned when he saw this scene.

He finally realized that the cavalry under Li Xuan were more numerous than he had originally expected.

He was totally shocked.

A huge, shrill whistle sounded between heaven and earth, and the roar of endless water exploded into the sky.

All the stepped dams collapsed at this moment.

……

Endless river waves rushed down from upstream, but there were no longer any black-armored cavalry on the river.

More than 7,500 black-armored cavalrymen had crossed the Lianchang River one step ahead of time, and quickly escaped from the threat range of the riverside navy and moved quickly upstream.

After only three miles upward, they suddenly separated into three sections.

One section was the rear army, who simply jumped off their horses and began to place defensive tools such as crossbows, catapults, caltrops, horse traps, deer antlers, etc. on the ground.

Some people even quickly dug trenches in front of the camp.

These people were not cavalry at all, but engineers who were best at defense.

The other two teams of cavalry, one on the left and one on the right, began to charge upward along the two banks.

They rushed all the way down the mountain, and even though they were forced to slow down when crossing the river, their speed and momentum remained.

Pei Shaoye rushed down from the foot of the mountain, and his cavalry must have been faster than them, but Xin Siye charged from halfway, so his cavalry did not have much speed advantage.

The power between the enemy and us is balanced.

What remained was a fight between armor, lances, crossbows, horses and soldiers.

……

Li Xuan lowered his body slightly, turned around downstream, and then quickly drew a large arc and rushed back into the river.

Li Xuan's understanding of river water is much better than Pei Shaoye, Xin Siye and others.

He knew very early on that a certain section of the middle and lower reaches of the Lianchang River was higher than the front and rear sides.

So after the impact of the torrent passes, there will be a momentary shallow section of the river, which is enough for Li Xuan and his team to rush through.

On the other side of the river, Li Xuan saw with his own eyes that his cavalry had already started fighting with Xin Siye's cavalry.

The spear blade was cold and blood splattered like a waterfall.

His eyes were terrifyingly cold.

Looking up, I saw more cavalry reinforcements coming from higher ground, now exceeding five thousand.

There was a bloodthirsty murderous intent in Li Xuan's eyes.

With a pull of the reins, the warhorse rushed towards the river, crossed the river, and then directly cut Xin Siye's soldiers in two.

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.

Li Xuan looked back and suddenly saw a white flag hanging tall on the tree with the word "revenge" clearly written in blood.

Twenty thousand cavalrymen charged forward from the direction of Yanling Pass.

In addition to Tang Zhenxing, the leader was Liu Dingyuan.

Cheng Wuting’s former relative-in-law, Liu Dingyuan.

No one knows where Lou Shide has gone.