Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 603 Ambush from All Sides

On the morning of November 23rd.

The pontoon bridge was quickly built, and the main force of the Taiping Army of 16,000 began to cross the river.

Although the Beiqing River was also severely damaged by the Yellow River's massive floods, resulting in significant siltation, it is still one of the four major rivers in the past, the Ji River. Even in winter, its flow is considerable, and the river is quite turbulent.

Therefore, even though the Taiping Army chose a place where the river was calm to cross, the river was still more than a hundred paces wide. Even with the construction of a pontoon bridge and the assistance of boats, it was not so easy for the entire army to cross.

Furthermore, the Taiping Army's choice of Dong'e as its garrison location was not arbitrary. Dong'e is located north of the Beiqing River, and south of the Beiqing River lies the foothills of Mount Tai, which extend from the northeast.

This rugged area, consisting of hills and peaks, is about 100 miles long and 20 miles wide, forming a natural barrier.

The narrowest part of this long hilly area is near Pingyin. From Pingyin, heading southeast, you can reach Xucheng, the core area of ​​Dongping Prefecture, by crossing just ten miles.

The Tianping army was stationed in Dong'e. If the main Jin army led by Heshilie Liangbi wanted to attack, they would have to cross this hilly area, occupy Pingyin County, and then cross the Beiqing River before they could launch an attack on the main Tianping army.

With so many buffer zones, even the most naive person would be able to react.

This is also why Xin Qiji opposed crossing the river hastily.

At this time, the Taiping Army was exhausted and its morale and combat effectiveness had declined drastically.

After crossing the river and arriving in Pingyin County, with the foothills of Mount Tai in front of them and the Beiqing River behind them, it was as if they were heading into a dangerous place, completely cutting off their escape route.

If the Jin army were lying in ambush nearby, even just two thousand elite cavalry would be enough to trap the Taiping army in this narrow strip of land and beat them to death.

But Geng Jing wouldn't listen.

Then Xin Qiji wanted to volunteer as the vanguard and personally lead the way to quickly cross the most dangerous hilly area.

But Geng Jing still wouldn't listen.

Finally, Xin Qiji thought of covering the rear, at least to ensure the Taiping Army's retreat.

Geng Jing still wouldn't listen.

Now that things have come to this, what can be done?
Xin Qiji could only lead his troops and cross the Beiqing River with the main army.

Unlike Xin Qiji's cautious and apprehensive demeanor, the officers and soldiers of the Tianping Army were almost all in high spirits and jubilant.

This is what is meant by returning to one's master.

However, things still didn't go as Xin Qiji expected.

There were no ambushes, no Jin troops, and no traitors in Pingyin County. The county magistrate even brought his entire administrative team to the city gate to welcome the army into the city.

As the vanguard, Liang Atai dispatched scouts to investigate while personally patrolling the city. Only after finding nothing amiss did he feel completely at ease and signal Geng Jing to begin crossing the river.

During this period, both banks of the Beiqing River were unusually quiet. Even the Jin cavalry, who usually appeared and disappeared, were nowhere to be seen. No ships passed by on the Beiqing River, making the more than ten ships of the Taiping Army on the water feel as if they had no place to use their skills.

Too much quiet is actually abnormal.

But now that things have come to this, there's no choice but to bite the bullet and cross the river.

By noon, the main force of the Taiping Army had completed crossing the river.

Only Ye Shichan's rearguard remained, covering the supply wagons as they stepped onto the pontoon bridge.

Everything seems to be going well.

Once the entire army crosses the river, they can use Pingyin as a strategic pivot to probe southwards towards Xucheng.

At this moment, this is what the Taiping Army was thinking.

Meanwhile, five miles south of Pingyin City, in a mountain valley near the Beiqing River, Heshilie Liangbi was looking at the tea stove in front of him, somewhat lost in thought.

Xiao Qi was fully dressed in heavy armor and was leaning against a large tree, resting with his eyes closed.

Military envoys traveled back and forth, relaying military intelligence observed from afar.

Everything was proceeding smoothly until someone brought a Jin soldier in a panic, which brought Heshilie Liangbi back to his senses.

"Left Prime Minister, Licheng fell yesterday!" the weak Jin soldier said in a low voice. "The traitor Liu took Licheng in just two days, and General Pusan ​​died for his country... The traitor Liu is coming. Liu Dapan sent me to inform the Left Prime Minister that we should prepare early."

Although the sound wasn't loud, it still attracted the attention of several people nearby.

Xiao Qi opened his eyes and said to his guards, "Block the news. Don't listen to what you shouldn't hear."

Several guards understood and stood up to form a circle, keeping all unrelated people out.

Seeing that no one was looking this way anymore, Xiao Qi's old face instantly darkened: "Left Prime Minister, a day and a night have passed. It's very likely that Liu Bei, riding the wave of his great victory, will march directly this way. Left Prime Minister, you must make a decision soon!" "What decision can we make? The army has already arrived here. Can we retreat?" He Shi Lie Liangbi merely frowned slightly: "Even with the Taishan Mountains providing cover and the powerful families of Dongping Prefecture acting as cover, it was extremely difficult for the army to secretly move here. If we retreat in the face of battle, not only will morale be affected, but our weapons and provisions will also be compromised."

"Then let's fight?" Xiao Qi said fiercely.

Heshi Lieliangbi stood up, poured the freshly boiled tea onto the ground, and instead of responding directly, said with a half-smile, "You say we already know the situation at Licheng, but does Geng know? Even if he doesn't know that Licheng has been captured, he should at least know that Liu is already a hundred miles away, right? Why is he in such a hurry to cross the river?"

Xiao Qi calmed himself down. He then said, "According to that scoundrel Kong Duanqi, Geng and Liu have fallen out, and Geng might not want Liu to come to their aid. Moreover, if Liu is more ruthless, then after occupying Licheng, he should sit back and watch the situation unfold, and wait for our army to defeat Geng before calmly dealing with the situation and carrying out the annexation."

Heshi Lieliangbi nodded: "It is also possible that Geng and Liu conspired to set a trap. After Geng made a move to hold our army back, Liu led a large army to attack quickly and killed both of us commanders under the walls of Pingyin City."

Xiao Qi's expression was rather unpleasant.

Heshi Lieliangbi seemed oblivious, looking up at the sky: "But in any case, our army has no choice. The dice have been rolled, let's decide the outcome now!"

"Ships, advance on the pontoon bridge!"

"Yes!" Xiao Qi bowed deeply, then gave a loud order and lit the beacon fire, informing everyone of He Shi Lie Liangbi's determination.

The beacon fires in broad daylight could not be hidden from anyone. Whether it was Geng Jing under Pingyin City, Liang Atai looking out from the city wall, Xin Qiji leading his troops to build fortifications and be responsible for guarding the city, or even Ye Shichan who had just crossed the river and was leading his horse off the pontoon bridge, they all saw this scene and immediately changed color.

"What's that over there? Is there a fire? Or is someone trying to send a signal?"

"Xin Wenyuan, you personally lead men over there and take a look!" Faced with his subordinate's question, Xin Qiji did not hesitate and directly pointed to his younger brother, saying, "If they are bandits, raise the yellow flag; if not..."

As soon as Xin Qiji finished speaking, he saw columns of smoke rising from all directions, which shocked him.

"No need to go. This is a trap, Pingyin is a snare!" After confirming his previous suspicions, Xin Qiji showed no excitement, but became even more furious: "So many troops are lying in ambush nearby, yet our scouts have never discovered them. The Jin bandits have an inside man! Kong Duanqi has truly betrayed us!"

"Order all troops not to enter the city before they have! Gather around me and engage the Jin invaders!"

After Xin Qiji loudly gave the order, and the military envoys had just set off, he saw Li Tieqiang galloping towards him, reining in his horse and shouting, "The commander-in-chief has ordered the army to enter the city immediately!"

Xin Qiji said sternly, "What nonsense is the military governor spouting?! Since the Jin bandits have ceded Pingyin to us, how come there are no defenses in the city?! Big Iron Spear, are you confused too?"

Before the two sides could reach a conclusion, the Taiping army began to fall into disarray.

Some received orders from Geng Jing to enter the city; others, having grasped the situation and received a message from Xin Qiji, wanted to join forces with the Ta Bai Army; still others, being quite clever, quickly came up with many ideas and simply abandoned their armor and fled with their confidants.

Liang Atai, standing atop the city wall, paid no attention to the chaos below. Instead, he was stunned by the message delivered by his personal guards.

"What? Say that again?!"

The guard swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "General, the grain bins in the city's granary only have millet on the top layer; the bottom is all sand..."

Liang Atai was struck dumb: "Where are the magistrate and the others? Bring them all up!"

The guard searched for a while, then returned trembling, saying, "It's...it's gone...we can't find it anywhere..."

Liang Atai was furious, but then felt a chill run through him.

The Jin invaders are trying to cut off the Taiping army's food supplies!
wrong!

Although Pingyin has been emptied, there are still grain supplies in Dong'e City.

Thinking this, Liang Atai hurriedly looked at the pontoon bridge over the Beiqing River.

There, supplies were being transferred, and it wasn't just large and small boats coming and going; many laborers leading horses and mules were also moving slowly across the pontoon bridge.

Looking further southwest, one could see sails already passing through the mountains, rushing downstream along the Beiqing River.

As these large ships bearing the Jin army's banners approached, Geng Jing's face immediately turned ashen.

The Jin army wouldn't have that many warships; most of their ships were converted from merchant ships or fishing boats, and they certainly wouldn't have that many skilled sailors.

It is only possible that the powerful families of Liangshan Marsh and the upstream and downstream areas of Beiqing River all surrendered to the Jin army, which would have enabled them to field so many warships.

Amidst screams of terror, an exceptionally large Jin warship charged to the forefront, smashing through several Ping warships before crashing heavily into the pontoon bridge.

Most of the laborers on the pontoon bridge had already fled. Apart from the carts pulled by horses and mules, only a few dozen brave Taiping Army archers remained on the pontoon bridge, constantly drawing their bows and shooting arrows in an attempt to stop the advance of the Jin army's warships.

This resistance, which was almost like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, was utterly useless. When the first warship rammed into them, the archers were either crushed under the ship or fell into the cold Beiqing River and sank to the bottom.

Then the second and third Jin warships crashed into the pontoon bridge. After the small boats that served as the pontoon bridge's base were smashed, the wide pontoon bridge finally gave way and broke apart.

Geng Jing watched this scene unfold, his teeth clenched until they bled, his eyes bloodshot, feeling the pain in his forehead intensify. He roared, "Kong Duanqi!"

He then lost his breath and fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)