Chapter 452 Broken Bridge
Fortunately, Su Dingbian turned the tide and the Yan army was not defeated by the Tang army, but this battle was a real loss.

It was a head-on battle, but we lost with 50,000 against 20,000.

Han Gui, the most trusted general of the King of Han and one of the commanders-in-chief of the twelve armies, was killed in battle, and only 2,000 of his 10,000 men remained. The rest of the troops also suffered heavy casualties.

After the generals returned to the camp and reported their military situation, Dongfang Di stood up and said, "I was the commander in chief for today's defeat. Commander Han died in battle because we did not send reinforcements in time. It was also my fault. I feel ashamed of the King of Han's trust. I will go to the north bank to apologize to the King of Han."

After saying that, Dongfang Di prepared to leave the tent.

Yang Kan stood up and said, "General Dongfang, what are you talking about? You and I received the order from the King of Han and are the left and right commanders in charge of the armies. Now that the army has been defeated, how can you be the only one to bear the blame? I will go with you."

Dongfang Di said, "General Yang, what you said is wrong. I was the one who made the decision when I led the army to fight Li Yuanhui today. Now that the army is defeated, how can I let General Yang and I take the blame? General, please don't say anything more. If you say anything more, you will insult me."

After saying that, Dongfang Di bowed to Yang Kan, stood up, walked out of the tent and headed north.

Yang Kan didn't know what to say when he heard Dongfang Di's decisiveness, so he could only sigh. Then he told everyone to return to the camp to guard the fortress, and not to leave without permission.

After all the generals left, only Yang Kan and his nephew Yang Feixiong were left in the tent.

Yang Feixiong said: "Uncle, today's defeat is due to Dongfang Di's improper command. This time he goes to ask for forgiveness, I believe the King of Han will let you be the commander-in-chief."

After hearing what his nephew said, Yang Kan shook his head and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I am a newly appointed general. Although I have some military merits, I have no foundation in the army. Even though Dongfang Di has a deep experience, there are still people in the army who do not obey me. Do you think that I am the commander and can intimidate the whole army and make them obey? If someone interferes and pretends to obey but secretly disobeys, we will definitely suffer a defeat. How can we gain a foothold in Hebei then?"

Yang Feixiong fell silent after hearing this. He was the son of Yang Xun. After his father's rebellion failed, he had been following his uncles Yang Sui and Yang Kan. Later, when the Yang family split up, he followed Yang Kan and stayed in Qingzhou.

He was later captured and taken to the Tang Dynasty, and was recently exchanged back from the Tang Dynasty.

His brothers, Yang Duan, Yang Lie, and Yang Qing, who were also Yang Xun's sons, all stayed in Tangying because their eldest brother Yang Bojun was highly valued in Tangying.

Yang Feixiong was very puzzled. Hebei was currently in an advantageous position, and Li Yuanhui had a grudge against them for having killed his father, so why did they stay in Tangying?

But when talking about this matter, his uncle Yang Kan said to him, it is difficult to go against God's will.

Liu Xuanji, who was in Wen County, was also not idle during the day. Li Sanlang and his more than 4,000 Di cavalry were always wandering outside Wen County, forcing the Yan army to be on high alert.

In the evening, just after dinner, Liu Xuanji was reading a book while waiting for the battle report from the south bank.

Until a guard came to report: "General, General Dongfang wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xuanji sighed immediately, because he knew that if Dongfang Di came in person, there would definitely be no good outcome.

But after listening to Dongfang Di's personal report on the battle, Liu Xuanji burst into tears again. Han Gui was also his old subordinate, who had fought with him for a long time and was his most trusted confidant.

Old brothers like this are really a blessing in disguise.

Dongfang Di also fell to the ground and cried, "I was entrusted by the king, which led to the defeat of the army and the death of Han Dudu in the battle. Please punish me, king."

Liu Xuanji did not blame him, but stood up and walked down. He supported him and said, "What kind of person is Li Yuanhui? I couldn't win even if I fought him. If Li Yuan hadn't taken over his position in the Battle of Baigou and fought for himself, the outcome would still be unknown. How could we have the chance to attack Hanoi and Luoyang? I just lament for Han and Lou. "

Later, facing a group of staff and generals, Liu Xuanji could only say: "This battle is unwinnable. We have taken Henei, how can we expect to take Luoyang?"

He then ordered Dongfang Di to return to the camp overnight to prepare for the withdrawal.

The next day, Dongfang Di announced Liu Xuanji's military order in front of everyone, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Dingbian volunteered to guard the river bridge and cover the rear. The rest of the troops retreated to Hanoi in order.

The Tang army's scouts soon discovered the abnormality of the Yan army and immediately reported it to Li Yuanhui.

Li Yuanhui breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news, but the other party's retreat at this time actually did not exceed his expectations.

The spring ploughing season was approaching, and if the troops were not withdrawn, the farming season would be delayed. Moreover, the Yan army might not be able to supply enough food and grass if they continued to fight.

He then ordered all troops to assemble and march to the river bridge.

Li Yuanhui personally led the troops to the river bridge, but did not find any particularly good opportunity for battle.

Although the Yan army retreated, their troops were orderly and unhurried, so Li Yuanhui rejected the generals' request to pursue them.

He also said: "Now the enemy has just begun to retreat, and they are very alert, so we cannot attack them."

Only after a large number of enemy troops had basically crossed the river did Li Yuanhui feel that the opportunity for battle had come, and he immediately ordered Chen Zhen to lead his troops to attack.

Although Chen Zhen's troops were the Zuowei Guard, and most of the troops in the ten Zhechoufu under his command were from Xuzhou, they were truly from the Jianghuai faction.

In his early years, he was a well-trained soldier in the Xuzhou Zhenrong Army under the command of Xuzhou Governor Qiao Wang Murong Jian.

Later, after Murong Jian was brought into the court by Murong Ying because of his powerful army, more than 4,000 soldiers of the Xuzhou army were placed under the jurisdiction of Li Yuanhui, which was the predecessor of the Zuowei Guard under Chen Zhen's army.

So in fact, as a part of the Jianghuai Army built by Li Yuanhui himself, Chen Zhen’s army had considerable combat effectiveness.

They also performed very well in the rescue of Luoyang, bringing with them eight Zhechoufu and marching at a very fast speed. Therefore, Li Yuanhui wanted to give the credit to this tested team.

After receiving the order, Chen Zhen summoned all the generals and said, "I and you have come all the way to Luoyang to provide assistance, but now we have not achieved any success. The king is watching us from behind. If we cannot achieve any military merit today, how can we still call ourselves the personal soldiers of the king of Qi?"

These few words could be considered as a provocation. The eight Zhechoufu of Zuowei Guard besieged the Yan army which had not yet crossed the river from three directions.

All the troops marched forward bravely. Commander-in-Chief He Gui, Commander-in-Chief Chen Qiong and others led the charge and launched a fierce attack on the Yan army.

Su Dingbian, the rearguard general of the Yan army, commanded his troops to retreat slowly, but because this team was the last rearguard of the Yan army, they could only retreat while fighting.

The Tang army took advantage of the situation and did not show any mercy. After a volley of arrows, the heavy infantry began to attack in turns.

Fortunately, Su Dingbian's soldiers were quite elite, and he himself was responsible for covering their retreat, so the situation did not collapse.

But the offensive of the Tang army did not weaken at all. Su Dingbian could only command his troops to fight and retreat, while at the same time he ordered people to prepare flammable materials to prevent the northern section of the pontoon bridge.

Because at this time the Yan army had lost Nanzhong City on the river bridge and was retreating to Zhongyu City, and the Tang army's offensive was like a tide, and Zhongyu City was definitely not going to be able to be defended.

In the end, the Tang army recaptured the south city of Heqiao and Zhongyu city, but failed to take the north city because the Yan army set fire to the northern section of the bridge.

When the Tang army saw the word "Su" on the flag of the defenders on the city wall, they sent people to investigate and found out that it was Su Dingbian, the Yan army general who had blocked the Tang army the day before.

After Li Yuanhui climbed up to Nanzhong City and heard the news, he gave up the idea of ​​taking back the river bridge and ordered his troops to retreat. At the same time, he said to the generals, "Su Dingbian is really a talented general. He is good at using troops. If you meet him on the battlefield in the future, you must not underestimate him."
Then he looked towards Hebei and sighed, "How many heroes are there in Hebei?"

(End of this chapter)