Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

The light cavalry of the Wei army was blocked from advancing, so they temporarily withdrew to the north bank. Soon, two hundred heavy infantry stepped onto the embankment heading south, leading the thousand archers in the rear to advance forward.

As the two sides closed to a certain distance, strong bows and crossbows flew all at once, and the enemy soldiers were overwhelmed. Even though they had considerable defense all over their bodies, they had to lean back to avoid the arrows.

The northerners valued cavalry archery. Although the southerners lacked war horses, they also worked hard in long-range strikes. Various bows and crossbows were also powerful on the battlefield. In the battle of Jiangling, the Western Wei seized a large number of bows and crossbows and related craftsmen from the Southern Liang, which greatly enriched the choice and coordination of tactics.

Under the continuous shooting of the archers, the brave Baibao soldiers of the Qi army were also shot and killed one after another. Although their armor was very sophisticated, there were always weak protection and places that could not be covered. The arrows of the crossbow were short and light, and even if one or two out of ten hit, they could still cause considerable damage.

Although the crossbow had the shortcoming of a slow firing speed, the Baibao soldiers of the Qi army had to take the initiative to attack and break through the defense of the enemy's heavy infantry if they wanted to hurt them, and in the process of the attack, they would inevitably cause new casualties. Not to mention that the heavy infantry of the Wei army was no less brave than the Baibao Xianbei.

The defeated Qi army on the riverbank also saw that the Baibao soldiers who had been so powerful before to stop them from going south were now helplessly shot and killed by the Wei army archers. Looking at the nearly 1,000 Wei army archers who were also holding crossbows not far away and guarding them, the unarmed people, they all lowered their heads again, and did not dare to have any messy thoughts in their minds.

The number of the Baibao Xianbei of the Qi army was not large to begin with, and more than a thousand of them were deployed along the south bank of the Tongdi River. The previous attack by the fleeing army on the north bank caused some casualties, and they were also attacked by the heavy cavalry of the Wei army. At the moment, there were only more than 500 people who could be put into battle, and now nearly 200 people were shot and killed by the crossbow team of the Wei army.

Even if it was a brave team, the losses in the battles had exceeded two-thirds, and it was no longer as brave as it was at the beginning. After several organized attacks, it failed to break through the heavy infantry formation of the Wei army, and instead caused considerable casualties to itself. At this time, the remaining Baibao soldiers finally found it difficult to continue to defend the embankment, and had to retreat to the rear under the coordinated attack of the Wei army's infantry armor and crossbows.

As the heavy-armored infantry in front reopened the road to the south, the troops of the Wei army also attacked southward. Li Tai even pushed the central army's banner directly to the embankment that the Qi army had previously filled. Only a few hundred men of the Three Guards and two thousand emergency soldiers were left with him, and the remaining more than 8,000 soldiers were all thrown into the battle on the south bank.

When the battlefield on the south bank of Tongdi River was fighting fiercely and the sound of killing was deafening, other areas were also not very peaceful.

In the left-wing camp of the Qi army, Duan Shao received the order to return to the central army and immediately began to gather the troops to prepare to abandon the camp. However, he made a move here, and the Wei army opposite him immediately noticed it. The main general of the Wei army, He Ruodun, led three thousand elite cavalry and stationed directly outside the Qi army camp, ready to attack at any time, and the troops behind him also went out of the camp and lined up.

Duan Shao was helpless in the face of this situation. If there was no emperor's call for troops, he would have a way to deal with the enemy's pressure. But now most of the left-wing army has been transferred away, and some soldiers need to stay in the camp to take care of the camp's carriages and supplies. He can mobilize less than 20,000 soldiers for the battle at one time, and he has to face the threat of the enemy so close, so it is difficult to have a perfect plan.

While Duan Shao was still thinking about what to do, the general of the central army came to the camp again. After entering the camp, his cousin Lou Dingyuan saw that the army had assembled but had not yet set out. He immediately said anxiously: "The current situation of the central army is really not good. Many soldiers on the border do not obey the king's orders. If my cousin does not help here any longer, the situation will probably become more critical!"

Although Duan Shao could see part of the battle scene on the battlefield of the central army, he did not know the whole picture. When he heard Lou Dingyuan say that the soldiers of the central army were a little difficult to dispatch, his face changed immediately and he hurriedly He asked quickly, "How could this be?"

Lou Dingyuan then recounted the past battles of the central army, and Duan Shao frowned after listening to it, stamping his feet and sighing, "How can we fight when the people are depressed and the people are scattered? Although the Supreme is strong-willed, how can we fight with those we are fighting with? It is better to keep the enemy out, close the camp and hold out, and make plans for the confrontation tomorrow!"

Duan Shao did not agree with the idea of ​​a quick victory. The war had progressed to this point, which was increasingly disadvantageous to the Qi army. Continuing to insist would only make the situation more extreme, and further overdraw and lose the ability to fight for a long time.

However, before he finished speaking, the Wei army on the front battlefield had already launched an attack on the other side again. Duan Shao heard the fierce fighting from the battlefield from afar, and after a long sigh, he said to Lou Dingyuan: "You first lead 10,000 troops from the left army to support the central army. The soldiers of the central army will strengthen their fighting spirit and fight hard to stop the enemy when they see the continuous reinforcements."

"Cousin, you are not going with me?"

After hearing this, Lou Dingyuan hurriedly asked. In his mind, if he wanted to save the current bad situation, Duan Shao's going to the central army to take charge was much more important than sending an additional 10,000 divisions and brigades.

"If the troops have no will to kill the enemy, even the Supreme Emperor is in danger of death, what can I do? Rather than throwing away all the manpower and material resources here, it is better to think about preservation and make plans for the future."

After saying this, Duan Shao looked at the Wei army outside the camp and said, "Besides, there are still strong enemies here like a thorn in the side, I am afraid they will not let my division leave easily!"

After saying this, he first handed his military order to Lou Dingyuan, and sent him to lead 10,000 armored soldiers to reinforce the central army camp. As for the rest of the troops, he ordered his son Duan Yi and other generals to lead and transport the carriages and materials in the camp to the lower direction of the gathering.

He himself led 3,000 elite cavalry, and after everything was settled, he immediately led his troops out of the camp and rushed straight to the direction of the Wei army outside the camp to block these Wei troops and buy time for the division to evacuate. The reason why he personally attacked and cut off the rear was also out of a compensatory mentality for not fully obeying the emperor's orders and acting on his own initiative.

Outside the Qi army camp, He Ruo Dun also noticed the movements of the soldiers in the camp and had summoned the soldiers to mount their horses to prepare for pursuit and battle, but he did not expect Duan Shao to lead his troops to charge directly at him. Caught off guard, the formation was somewhat messy, so he hurriedly led the people to retreat slightly to the position of the formation, and then fought again after reorganizing the troops.

Duan Shao of the left army made some adjustments and arrangements according to his plan, while the right army, which was farther away from the central army camp, directly broke out a personnel conflict.

When Heba Ren received the order to retreat, he looked at the soldiers on the other side of the Zhuozhang River who were still fighting fiercely with the Wei army. He immediately frowned and pointed at the messenger and said angrily: "Your Majesty was telling us to fight here before, how could you change the previous order in an instant? Don't spread the messenger's orders and disturb our army's morale!"

While speaking, he ignored the messenger's excuses and complaints, and directly ordered his staff to take him away and guard him, not allowing him to talk nonsense again.

Zhao Daode, who was standing next to him, saw this scene and immediately frowned and said, "This messenger from the Central Army came with a talisman, and the message he conveyed is probably not a chaotic order. The situation on the battlefield has changed. The enemy army actually split into two places and attacked the Central Army directly. The Supreme Lord cannot afford to lose anything. Your Majesty, please order the front-line divisions to withdraw slowly."

"How dare you! Daode, a mere slave, teach me how to use troops!"

When Heba Ren heard that Zhao Daode was still questioning him, he immediately glared and roared, and ordered Zhao Daode to be detained again, but still did not order the front-line soldiers to withdraw.

When the other generals saw this scene, they all shut up and dared not say anything more. But soon another general from the Central Army came in to urge the reinforcements to return quickly, which made the generals look at Heba Ren with suspicion.

"You all may wonder why I am so stubborn. But please look at it. Is it appropriate to withdraw now? Now tens of thousands of enemy troops are fighting with me. If I order a withdrawal, the frontline troops will be chased and killed and fill the river!" Heba Ren saw the expressions of the crowd and pointed to the battlefield and said in a deep voice: "It is not suitable to attack the front. Forcing an attack will really lead to being surrounded by the enemy. Now the enemy troops are attacking the middle center, but the troops on the side have not left. It is estimated that they are only hiding on the slope. There are still tens of thousands of troops in the middle army. It must not be extremely dangerous. But if we can hold the original position, the enemy will fail to advance. Then we will have to draw troops from other places. The enemy situation here will be reduced, and I can directly attack their vital ribs, which is better than a laborious retreat with more casualties!" Heba Ren's words were convincing, and the generals all felt that it made sense, but withdrawing troops to support was the emperor's order after all. Such disobedience was still a bit inappropriate no matter what the result was. Therefore, after Heba Ren finished speaking, Gao Anagong suggested: "Your Majesty should send someone to report this to the Supreme Emperor to avoid confusion and misunderstandings on the battlefield."

"I am worthy of Emperor Taizu!"

After hearing this, Heba Ren immediately glared and roared, feeling very dissatisfied with the emperor's capricious and inappropriate orders, but after a while, he still summoned a confidant to report to the central army.