My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 602 Taking the River Bridge!

Snapped!
Peng Le, holding the reins in one hand, spurred his horse to attack Helianda, while thrusting out his lance with his right.

Helianda held his lance horizontally, and the immense force of the blow made his arms go numb.

Peng Le laughed loudly and continued to increase his strength, using both hands. He Lianda could only struggle to hold on, his face turning red!

"Damn it!"

He knew he had no chance of winning against Peng Le, who was in his prime, so he used both hands to deflect the force, sidestepped the spear, and drew his sword from his waist to slash at Peng Le!

Although he lost control of Ma Shuo, Peng Le had to release his lance in order to avoid his slashes.

"Good lad! You reacted pretty quickly. Take this!"

Peng Le did the same, drawing his sword from his waist and slashing at the enemy.

A bang!
The two men's weapons clashed in mid-air, the sparks flying out conspicuously against the night sky.

Although Helianda was in a somewhat disheveled state, he would not be easily defeated in the short term.

The soldiers on both sides were also clashing with each other.

Helianda led an elite force whose fighting strength was no less than that of the troops brought by Peng Le, and the two sides fought fiercely!

Then came the sound of rapid hoofbeats.

"Shuozhou, I'm here to help you!"

Wang Jie rode up and thrust out his lance, only to have another lance appear out of thin air and deflect his attack.

Peng Le turned his head and saw that Duan Shao had also arrived.

Duan Shao remained silent, only relentlessly wielding his lance to intensify his attacks, leaving Wang Jie struggling to keep up.

The two sides fought each other for several rounds before finally separating.

Helianda and Wang Jie looked extremely embarrassed. They had rushed ahead and were able to vaguely see the situation at the bridge entrance.

The river bridge, shrouded in darkness, continued to 'spawn monsters' in an endless stream. The number of soldiers under Gao Yu's command at the bridge entrance was increasing. Originally, they were at a significant numerical disadvantage, but now their numbers were almost equal to, or even surpassed, those of the other side.

They both knew that there was no chance left.

If they failed to push Peng Le and his men back immediately and form an encirclement around the bridgehead, allowing Gao Yu's army to gain a foothold, they would be unable to launch a surprise attack or seize the opportunity when the army was still establishing itself.

On the contrary, it's their side.

The news didn't get out at all. Only the troops that Erzhu Rong had planted along the riverbank heard the commotion and spontaneously came to their aid. The number of reinforcements on both sides was not even in the same league.

"Shuozhou, if we are dragged here, it will be disadvantageous for us and increase casualties. It would be better to retreat for the time being and see what the Prime Minister's instructions are?"

Successfully pushing Gao Yu's army back and recapturing the nearly lost bridgehead on the south bank of the river would be a great achievement, even a tremendous one, as it would buy Erzhu Rong a lot of time for strategic deployment.

however……

The premise is that it must be possible to do so.

If you can't do that, then you're just sending your army to their deaths in vain.

They're not only not credited, but they're also expected to take the blame.

From the perspective of self-preservation.

The goal is not to achieve merit, but to avoid making mistakes. Especially under these circumstances, no one can be sure what Erzhu Rong might do.

Helianda quickly scanned his surroundings. He knew the situation was difficult to reverse, so he nodded in agreement with Wang Jie's suggestion and shouted, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

The two of them quickly turned their horses around and fled towards Luoyang.

Peng Le originally wanted to chase after them, but Duan Shao stopped him immediately. "General, our army's top priority is to quickly seize the bridge so that the main force can cross the Yellow River smoothly. Every second counts. If we waste precious time chasing after Fang Kui's army, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

"Let's let them off the hook for now; there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with them later."

Peng Le heeded his advice and did not continue the pursuit. The two also hurriedly turned their horses around and headed to the other side to support Li Bi.

The situation on Li Bi's side was actually not much different.

Although he was more valiant, he had already exhausted most of his strength in the previous charge with twenty Xuanjia soldiers to seize the bridge pass, which made him unable to do anything to Wei Xiaokuan for the time being, and the two were locked in a stalemate for a while.

When Wei Xiaokuan saw that Li Bi's reinforcements were increasing, he knew that it was no longer possible to force Gao Yu's army to retreat.

The fall of the river bridge is now a fait accompli.

Ultimately, everything happened too suddenly.

He had just received news of the fall of Beizhong City, and before he could even gather troops to strengthen the defenses, and before the news could even get out, Gao Yu had already sent people across the Yellow River via the river bridge, and even established a foothold at the bridgehead.

By the time he brought his troops over, it was too late, and his best efforts yielded no results.

Let's keep wasting time here.

Not only would it increase his own casualties, but once surrounded, he himself would likely become a prisoner.

"Get out of here! Evacuate immediately!!"

Wei Xiaokuan also ordered a retreat. Li Bi's side did not have enough cavalry to hold them off, and could only watch helplessly as Wei Xiaokuan led his men away.

At this point.

Having reached his limit, Li Bi was panting heavily and barely managed to stand up by using the spear in his hand for leverage.

He looked around and, after assessing the situation, his tense nerves finally relaxed.

The effects of adrenaline had worn off, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Li Bi was completely exhausted. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

"General! General!!"

The surrounding soldiers quickly gathered around!
They had all witnessed Li Bi's bravery.

In the army, the strong are respected. Because of Gao Yu, the soldiers of the Xuanjia Army and the Fubing Army all have great respect for those who have absolute personal bravery on the battlefield!

Li Bi has already earned the recognition of many soldiers with his bravery!
"Quickly...quickly go back and send a message to the Prime Minister! Tell him to send a large army across the river immediately! Now is not the time to let our guard down."

Li Bi grabbed a soldier's arm and gave him repeated instructions.

Taking over the river bridge is only the first step.

A large number of troops were stationed around Luoyang, especially in the Mangshan area.

The immediate priority is to race against time and build a camp at the bridgehead so that Erzhu Rong's army cannot easily advance.

"Hahaha! Jinghe, there's no need to worry. I've already sent someone back to inform the Prime Minister, and he's probably already mobilizing a large army!"

Peng Le has also arrived.

Looking at Li Bi, whose body was covered in needles and whose face and body were stained with blood.

She had completely accepted him in her heart.

He quickly dismounted and shouted, "Guards! Take General Li back and take good care of him!"

"Jinghe, leave this place to me. You should go to the rear to recover from your injuries and get well soon. We'll have another tough battle waiting for us soon."

The closer it is to Luoyang.

The intensity of the battle between the two sides will also increase dramatically.

And they all knew very well...

Luoyang was Erzhu Rong's bottom line.

Erzhu Rong would not be able to continue to retreat and would definitely defend Luoyang to the death. Therefore, there would definitely be a fierce battle between the two sides around Luoyang!
(End of this chapter)