Chapter 539 Eastern Front
On the eastern front, on both sides of the Qi River, the Tang and Han troops combined numbered more than 200,000.

The Tang army, contrary to its usual practice, did not hold on to the west bank, but instead sent the navy and infantry to fight together and prepare to force a crossing of the river. Even Liu Xuanji felt that such a deployment of troops was not like Li Yuanhui's work and was extremely aggressive.

The Qi River was not wide, and the rainy season had not yet arrived, so the water was not deep, and in some places one could even cross the river on horseback. This caused great trouble for the Han army's defense along the Qi River.

The Chief of Construction Cao Fu was ordered to build a pontoon bridge for the army. Thousands of militiamen tied inflated animal bladders around their waists, carried wooden boards and bamboo poles, and jumped into the water.

The floating bridge extended little by little towards the other side. The Qi River was not very wide to begin with, and soon it reached the center of the river.

The Han army would naturally not sit idly by and watch the Tang army build a pontoon bridge directly to the other side. Liu Xuanji was not Duke Xiang of Song, so it was natural for him to attack them halfway across the river.

Thousands of Han heavy-armored infantry lined up along the west bank, held up large shields and connected them together, and then used strong bows and crossbows to shoot at the opposite bank and into the river.

Arrows fell like rain, causing many casualties to the Tang army and the civilians building the pontoon bridge. In particular, countless civilians were hit by arrows, and the river water was instantly dyed blood red.

Many civilians were so frightened that they dropped what they were holding and tried to run to the shore, but the soldiers on the shore kicked them back into the river and pointed their spears into the river. Some were even stabbed to death by the supervising soldiers.

Li Yuanhui, who was watching the battle from a distance, shook his head when he saw this situation, but did not express anything. Having seen many life and death situations, he knew that a merciful army cannot be commanded.

The Tang army was well prepared for this and quickly pushed up the prepared crossbow carts. The crossbow arrows with fine steel tips and wrought iron feathers were a nightmare for the densely packed heavy infantry. The crossbow arrows easily penetrated the shield wall and pinned the Han army's heavy armored infantry to the ground in groups. The Tang army had crossbow carts, and naturally the Han army had some as well. However, the Tang army had the advantage in the end because they had more crossbow carts and they were better made.

A large number of Han army archers also suffered heavy casualties from the powerful bows and crossbows of the Tang army. The Tang army had an absolute advantage in long-range projectile weapons.

"Set up shields, set up shields!" the Han general who was supervising the battle shouted at the top of his lungs, but at the same time hundreds of giant crossbow arrows whizzed in from the west bank and directly destroyed the Han army's formation. One crossbow arrow often pierced through several people or directly destroyed a crossbow cart.

When loading this kind of crossbow, it often requires dozens of soldiers or ten draft horses to pull it. It takes three or five strong men to load one arrow and place it in the slot of the crossbow cart.

After several rounds of continuous shooting from hundreds of crossbow carts, the Han army suffered heavy losses.

Although the Tang army also suffered losses in its crossbow carts and archers, the sheer numbers still forced the Han army to retreat.

The Han general Fu Hong who was supervising the battle ordered all the Han army's crossbow carts and archers to retreat, and then concentrate their shooting on the civilians who were repairing the bridge.

But the river was not very wide to begin with, and the Tang army quickly sent in civilians to fill the gap and finally built the bridge to the east bank.

In order to build this bridge, at least thousands of civilians died. Of course, their families can also receive generous compensation.

The pontoon bridge was built, and Zhang Qiong, the left commander of the Longjie Army, led 700 soldiers across the bridge, setting up shields and forming a battle array. The counterattack of the Han army also began.

The elite infantry of both sides began a brutal fight. Every step forward meant stepping on corpses, both their own and the enemy's.

After Zhang Qiong, the infantry of the entire Longjie Army also crossed the river one after another and advanced forward in formation. At this point in the battle, there was no room for tricks, and it was a hard fight, a brute fight, and a fight to the death.

What is being compared is the morale, fighting spirit, and organization of both sides. These things are precisely the most important underlying logic of an army.

Liu Xuanji and Li Yuanhui were both paying attention to every move on the battlefield, but neither of them interfered with the command of the front army.

Zhu Deyu, the commander-in-chief of the Tang army, and Fu Hongzhi, the general supervising the Han army, were constantly increasing their troops.

After the Long Jie Army, General Wang Bi of the Right Guard also led 2,000 infantrymen to the east bank to help the Long Jie Army consolidate its defense line and try to advance forward to create space for the subsequent troops to enter.

Fu Hongzhi commanded his elite troops to launch a frenzied counterattack, and the Han army soldiers also threw themselves into the battlefield without fear. Li Yuanhui saw that the battle was too intense and knew that it was time to boost morale, so he directly ordered the big flag to move forward 300 steps to the shore to watch the battle.

All the generals advised Li Yuanhui that the fighting on both sides of the river was dangerous and stray arrows were shot at him from time to time.

Li Yuanhui said: "I have been fighting on the battlefield since I was fourteen years old. I have experienced life and death several times in the past twenty years. Have I braved arrows and stones many times? Can a mere Qi River stop the footsteps of my Tang Dynasty cavalry? Don't say anything!"

As the banner moved forward, the sound of war drums behind it resounded through the sky. Zhu Deyu, who was originally supervising the battle at the bridge, turned around and saw the banner so close at hand, and knew that this was Li Yuanhui's way of boosting morale.

Zhu Deyu shouted, "The king's flag is within reach. Tang He and Hu Kuohai, each of you must bring 500 elite soldiers across the river. If you cannot defeat them, bring your heads to me."

The two of them quickly responded, "Yes."

Tang He and Hu Kuohai stepped onto the battlefield with the elite troops they had deployed.

After Zhang Qiong and Ma Renyu, who were supervising the battle at the front line, turned around and saw the flag, they realized that there was no possibility of retreating.

Ma Renyu led dozens of crossbowmen to climb up the pile of corpses and fired intensively. The crossbows were able to cause damage to the heavily armored infantry at a distance of less than ten steps, and dozens of people were shot down in an instant.

It was during this gap that Zhang Qiong, wearing double armor and holding a Mo Dao, charged into the Han army formation, while more than a hundred soldiers behind him, all holding large axes that could penetrate armor, followed closely behind him and hacked and killed the Han army's heavily armored infantry.

Zhang Qiong was like a demon, wielding the Mo Dao with unstoppable force. Wherever he stepped on the ground was covered with corpses of Han soldiers chopped in half.

The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty Longjie Army behind him saw their commander fighting so bravely, and the sound of the drums supervising the battle became clearer and clearer. Ma Renyu also shouted: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi is watching us from behind. If we cannot defeat the enemy today, we will never turn back and kill."

"kill."

The Right Guard led by Wang Bi took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce attack. Holding two swords, they looked like mad tigers, making it difficult for the Han army to resist.

The morale of the Tang army soared, and with subsequent reinforcements constantly filling the gaps, they fought fiercely without regard for casualties.

Under this fierce attack, the Han army finally began to retreat. The elite troops led by Tang He and Hu Kuohai joined the battlefield, which changed the situation on the battlefield.

In the battle over the pontoon bridge, with a total of more than 10,000 people involved, the Tang army finally came out on top and successfully withstood the counterattack of the Han army.

They successfully consolidated their position and repelled the Han army.

The victorious Tang army quickly crossed the river to build a camp and reinforce the pontoon bridge.

"I fought poorly and failed to stop the Tang army on the west bank. Instead, I let them cross the Qi River. Your Majesty, please forgive me."

In the Han army's main tent, Fu Hongzhi prostrated himself on the ground and knelt to apologize.

Liu Xuanji said, "I witnessed today's battle with my own eyes. General Fu also rushed to the front line several times to organize counterattacks. In the end, it was Li Si who planted his banner by the river. The morale of the Tang army was greatly boosted, and they were able to resist our counterattack. Although the battle was not favorable, General Fu also went to the front line and fought bloody battles. What crime did he commit? Even I didn't get any advantage in the battle with Li Si. If he was guilty of this, who in the account would be innocent?"

Fu Hongzhi said: "Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Majesty. I would never be able to repay you even if I die a thousand times."

Liu Xuanji said: "General Fu and everyone present here don't need to worry too much about today's defeat. This big battle has just begun!"

(End of this chapter)