Chapter 432 Offensive and defensive momentum
The Tang army was completely defeated.

As Liu Xuanji personally led the cavalry to break through the formation, the already shaky Tang army formation was on the verge of complete collapse.

The combat effectiveness of these so-called Yuanzong imperial guards could not stand the test at all. With the full-scale charge of the Yan cavalry, the Tang army began to flee on a large scale.

The Tang army's formation was constantly torn and peeled off under the raging attack of the Yan army. The soldiers in the front row were either killed in battle or were swept into the attacking ranks and were never seen again. The soldiers in the back row roared and tried to gain a foothold, but they were never able to do so.

As far as Liu Xuanji could see, some people in the Tang army began to turn around and flee. As a result, the Yan army's offensive became more fierce.

On the other hand, Duan Xiong still failed to defeat Su Dingbian's thousands of infantrymen. Seeing that the rear army was in chaos and the enemy was coming from the left army, he knew that the central army must be gone and there was nothing he could do. He immediately chose to withdraw his troops, but he moved towards the right army.

Su Dingbian had no spare energy to launch a counterattack and could only watch Duan Xiong and 20,000 Tang troops evacuate the battlefield.

Seeing this situation, Li Yuanhui made a prompt decision and chose to flee. Before leaving, he specifically ordered people to take down the emperor's flag, and then he fled south with "Li Yuan" in his arms.

Yang Kan, who was at the forefront, fought his way forward and finally reached the central army where Li Yuanhui was originally located. After seizing Li Yuan's ceremonial guards, he interrogated the Tang army about Li Yuan's whereabouts. When he learned the news that "His Majesty and the King of Qi went southwest".

Yang Kan shouted, "My eldest brother Yang Xun, my third brother Yang Xi, and my fifth brother Shancai all died at the hands of Li Yuanhui. They are all members of the Yang family. Today, they should follow me to avenge this old hatred."

Afterwards, Yang Kan led his troops, who were left with only about 500 people, and launched a pursuit. Zhu Chaoshi rushed over and followed closely behind.

To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. If Li Yuan and his son Li Yuanhui can be captured, then the offensive and defensive situation in the world will be completely reversed.

This kind of thing is of great significance.

Li Yuanhui's escape was not smooth, and he failed to successfully reunite with his personal guards who remained in the camp.

He could only flee with hundreds of Li Yuan's personal guards and a large number of Chang'an nobles.

These people live a life of luxury on a daily basis. Although they can all ride horses, they are not as brave as the enemy cavalry.

However, Li Yuanhui relied on his fast horse to run at the front of the team. The guard who pretended to be Li Yuan was named Li Qing, also a member of the Li family. He had followed Li Yuan for a long time and was also conferred the title of marquis after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Only he could rely on his fast horse to catch up with Li Yuanhui.

Li Yuanhui said to him, "Run separately"

Upon hearing this, Li Qing instantly understood what the other party meant. After all, he was now the "emperor" and his target was too big. If he continued to follow the King of Qi, it would easily drag the King of Qi down.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing immediately took some guards and ran away from Li Yuanhui.

Yang Kan's cavalry chased very fast, and intercepted many generals and nobles who followed Li Yuan to the expedition. Yang Kan was also from the Hongnong Yang family of Guanzhong, so he did not kill them but left them to Zhu Chaoshi behind.

He had only one target, Li Yuanhui, the King of Qi of the Tang Dynasty. He had learned from the captives that Li Yuanhui and "Li Yuan" had divided their forces. He sent someone to inform Zhu Chaoshi about Li Yuan, but he gave up chasing the "Emperor of the Tang Dynasty" just to get revenge!
Li Yuanhui was also confused when he saw this. Why were the pursuers behind him so close? Why didn't they let up at all? Why didn't you chase the emperor but me?
At this time, Li Yuanhui had only a few dozen guards around him, including two of his own personal guards. One was Dugu Xing, a descendant of the Dugu clan in Luoyang, and the cousin of Dugu Ying. The other was Han Wei, the brother of Han Quan. In addition, they were all Li Yuan's former guards. He knew that if he was caught, he would definitely die. The people chasing him had some personal grudges, otherwise they would not have pursued him so closely.

Yang Kan chased closer and closer, killing more than a dozen personal guards who were blocking his way. No one could defeat him with the big spear in his hand.

Han Wei had followed Li Yuanhui for many years and was originally a member of the Li family. His brother Han Quan had been his guard and confidant since childhood. Han Wei had been Li Yuanhui's personal guard since the Jianghuai period. Seeing this, he immediately said, "Silang, go first, and I will take care of the pursuit."

After saying this, he turned around with his lance in hand to fight Yang Kan, but was stabbed by Yang Kan with the lance and fell off his horse, dying instantly.

Dugu Xing, who turned back with Han Quan to resist the pursuers, was unable to withstand the torrent of cavalry and died in battle after killing several of Yang Kan's men in succession.

At this time, Li Yuanhui had no time to be grateful or sad, he just rode his horse as fast as he could.

Yang Kan chased after him relentlessly, shouting, "Li Silang, today is the day you die, give me your life!" "I will kill you!"

Li Yuanhui had never been so flustered before, but at this moment he did not dare to have any hesitation or delay. He only regretted that the good Western horse under his crotch ran too slowly.

Yang Kan was getting closer and closer, and the distance between them went from several hundred steps to dozens of steps, and finally to less than ten steps.

"Hahaha, the one who killed Li Si was Yang Kan."

A few steps.

Yang Kan held his lance horizontally, and the tip of the lance could even touch Li Yuanhui's back.

The next moment, Yang Kan seemed to feel that his spear had pierced through Li Yuanhui's body, but in a flash, a feather arrow hit Yang Kan's horse's leg, and the galloping horse fell down directly. The huge inertia caused Yang Kan to fly out.

Li Yuan looked forward and breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Shufang and Yuchi Jingde came with hundreds of cavalry.

He brought hundreds of elite guards to the central army camp. Because they had to accompany the emperor in the central army, he could not bring his own guards. He didn't even bring a bow and arrow and a sword. He could only bring a few attendants, and the majority of the troops stayed in the camp.

After learning that the Tang army was defeated, Xie Shufang and Yuchi Jingde went against the crowd without any hesitation to protect their master.

After reuniting with his personal guards, Li Yuanhui was so sad that he almost cried. It was so damn difficult. It was just a little bit short.
On the other side, Yang Kan fell to the ground, but he was strong and stood up quickly. He looked at Li Yuanhui's back as he rode away and sighed: "It's God's will that I didn't bring my bow and arrows today."

At this time, Liu Xuanji, wearing black armor, led hundreds of cavalrymen to drive away the defeated Tang army, preventing them from forming a formation. The troops behind him either attacked them or made forced landings. The situation on the entire battlefield was that the Yan army was chasing and the Tang army was fleeing.

The battle lasted until sunset, and the Yan army, after a day of fierce fighting, withdrew its troops and returned to the camp.

In this battle, the left and central armies of the Tang army suffered an almost devastating blow and were completely routed.

Emperor Li Yuan was missing, and some soldiers who escaped said that he was captured alive. Li Yuanhui, who had the power to "command all the troops" announced by Li Yuan in public and his official position, undoubtedly became the backbone.

After escaping back to the camp, Li Yuanhui did not sit idle. He immediately gathered the defeated soldiers and enforced military discipline.

Before the Left Army and the Central Army set out, there were nearly 100,000 troops. Among them, Duan Xiong led nearly 20,000 people to join Chai Rong in the Right Army and helped Chai Rong defeat the Right Army of Dayan. Therefore, Duan Xiong's troops and Chai Rong's troops almost maintained their complete structure. Although there were some losses, there were still nearly 60,000 people left.

The rest of the troops suffered miserably, with fewer than 10,000 dead, fled, or wounded, returning to the camp.

Among them, of the 20,000 elite soldiers of the Left and Right Guards who had followed Li Er in his campaigns, only 3,000 returned to the camp.

In this battle, the Yan army beheaded more than 10,000 people and captured nearly 30,000 people.

In the Yan army camp, the central tent remained lit all night long.

Liu Xuanji sat like a tiger, with a huge horse and a golden sword.

"From now on, the offensive and defensive positions will be easy!"

(End of this chapter)