Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 788 - 647: Decisive Battle 4_3

Chapter 788: Chapter 647: Decisive Battle 4_3

The main focus is the direction of the Transport Army. Liang Heng has gathered a whopping 80,000 elite soldiers of the Jingying Forbidden Army here, displaying an attacking posture.

Obviously, he wants to remove this ’thorn’ before Li Xuan crosses the river. Especially after Li Chengji helped Li Xuan to set up a cannon array on the high ground on the left side of the camp, Liang Heng became even more aggressive, adding another 30,000 elite troops from the Weisuo Institute.

At this point, the pontoon bridge behind the Transport Army’s camp has just been built by less than a third.

"Brother, are you still going to let that brat Li Xuan cross the river? Do you plan to attack them while they are halfway across?"

Liang Biao noticed that although Liang Heng had deployed heavy troops in the direction of the two stone bridges, he kept a defensive posture from several miles away. He neither seized nor intended to destroy the bridges.

However, once the enemy intends to cross the river, the large army on this side can also push forward and annihilate the enemy’s river-crossing troops on the riverbank.

"Otherwise? Now he is the one who is eager to enter the capital, not me." Liang Heng sneered coldly: "Now let’s see if he dares to force the crossing."

Although dragging on for a long time is also disadvantageous for them. But Liang Heng understood that the morale of his troops was not strong. Taking the initiative to cross the river at this time would only expose his own flaw in front of the enemy.

But if they can hold on to the west of the river for even just one day, Liang Heng is confident of consolidating morale. At that time, Liang Heng would not be afraid to fight the whole Ji State Army.

In addition, he dispatched 30,000 soldiers from the Weisuo army to attack Tongzhou City. As long as he could seize the numerous granaries of the Ministry of Revenue in this area, he would not worry about food and supplies in a month.

There were also five thousand Transport Army soldiers guarding over there, but the city wall of Tongzhou was not very tall. The generals he dispatched were veterans experienced in warfare, and they were fully armed. It was estimated that the city could be captured within half a day.

Liang Heng then looked towards the camp of the Transport Army: "But before that, the Transport Army must be taken down."

Especially the artillery position on the hill, which stuck in his throat.

Liang Heng predicted that once the enemy crossed the river, this artillery position covering a radius of twelve miles would be the key to victory or defeat in this battle.

However, to Liang Heng’s surprise, just as he commanded an army of 120,000 to press towards the direction of the Transport Army’s camp from three directions, he saw the surface of the Chaobai River quickly freeze.

The frozen area on the surface of the river was located at the ’Baiding Bridge’ in the middle section of the battlefield. The surface of the river froze instantly for miles on both sides, and the ice surface was very solid.

Seeing this, Liang Heng was taken aback. He knew that Master Zhang was in Li Xuan’s army, and he also knew that Zhang Shenye had prepared the altar in advance nearby.

But this time they brought a large number of spellcasters with them from their side, and thirty Imperial spellcasters in addition, who had been on guard against Zhang Shenye freezing the river.

Correspondingly, Li Xuan also had many spellcasters in his army, besides those in Jizhou Town, there were many Taoists from Longhu Mountain.

But these spellcasters should have exhausted their Mana after trekking one thousand five hundred miles overnight. They supposedly wouldn’t be able to help.

Is this Master Zhang so strong? Can he suppress many of our experts with his own power and freeze the river?

"I saw them throwing a lot of ice cubes into the river, and the river surface froze immediately. Look –"

Liang Biao pointed in a direction across the river. There were some soldiers pushing baskets of ice cubes into the river, and then those yet to be frozen parts of the river solidified instantly.

Liang Biao filled with puzzlement: "It’s weird, how did it happen?"

What puzzled him was that the ice cubes thrown in by Li Xuan accounted for a tiny fraction of the amount of river water. They should theoretically melt quickly.

But at this time, the two brothers had no time to investigate the details.

Only because at this moment, a thick layer of ice had formed on the 20-mile river surface on either side of the ’Baiding Bridge’.

This wide surface was more than enough for Li Xuan’s ’Shenji’s right and left camp’ to cross the river.

Liang Heng saw on the other side of the river, the 40,000 soldiers of the ’Shenji’s right and left camp’ were already lined up on the river bank. They formed more than ninety Line Column Formations, forming a thin battle line seven miles long on the east bank of the Chaobai River, pressing toward the river.

Liang Heng couldn’t help but become spirited, with joy showing on his face: "This brat dares to cross the river, throwing himself into the impossible. I really don’t know if this guy does not understand military strategies, or is so arrogant that he has no boundaries."

In his opinion, this was nothing less than a golden opportunity to defeat the enemy.

Only the timing made him a tad queasy - the majority of his strongest Jingying infantry was concentrated here at the Transport Army’s campsite.

There was no way these elite warriors could be dispatched elsewhere at a moment’s notice.

Liang Heng had a suspicion that this was Li Xuan’s deliberate intent, using the Transport Army of thirty thousand and the artillery position to force him to divide his forces, so that he couldn’t fully engage on the eve of battle.

Liang Heng shook his head, then turned to trumpet to his deputy commander, Ma Lin: "General Ma, I entrust this Transport Army camp to you. I need you to take that artillery position as swiftly as possible - within an hour!"

Then he spurred his horse, sprinting off to his cavalry formation far away.

Next, he would preside over the decisive battle there. Should Li Xuan’s Shenji right and left camp cross the river, he himself would command his 13,000 armored Iron Cavalry and squash Li Xuan’s musket line-up in an instant!

※※※※

The ice chunks poured by Li Xuan into the river were actually ’dry ice’ prepared in advance.

It’s a powerful refrigerant and incredibly easy to make.

Zhang Shenye arrived here at dawn to set up the altar. Following this, he produced a large amount of dry ice according to the method provided by Li Xuan.

It was these tools that helped Zhang Shenye suppress the spellcasters on the other side.

At this moment, an unexpected visitor appeared before Li Xuan’s formation,

It was Xiao Ci, the Minister of Revenue, who claimed to have come to confer a title upon Li Xuan by the command of Zhengtong Emperor.

"—— His Majesty means that if the Marquis of Guanjun withdraws his troops, His Majesty is ready to appoint you Duke and bestow marriage with the Anqing Princess. Just like with Prince Mu, you will perpetually dominate Liaodong, control the Zhihuishi Division of Nuergan in Narathuergan, and guard the border for the Jin Dynasty."

Li Xuan squinted at him: "If this Marquis doesn’t agree, is Minister Xiao prepared to be my enemy?"

Minister of Revenue Xiao Ci remained silent. As soon as they agreed to True Emperor Zhengtong’s restoration at yesterday afternoon’s court meeting, he and vice-premier Gao Gu knew there was no turning back.

Li Xuan sneered coldly again, and continued to question: "May I ask what His Majesty did wrong to you?"

Minister of Revenue Xiao Ci thought that Jingtai Emperor did not wrong them at all, but his face still looked calm as he said: "Marquis of Guanjun! His Majesty has no son, the Jin Dynasty can’t be succeeded by a baby! As far as Xiao knows, even though the so-called imperial grandson was recorded on the Shangjin Ceyudie, his origin is still somewhat vague.

Furthermore, with matters as they are now, it is most beneficial to the nation and the people for the True Emperor Zhengtong to ascend the throne again in order to quickly stabilize the government and calm the world."

"And then?" Li Xuan sneered, "And then let the meritorious generals after the Battle of Tumu Fort be avenged by him, let state affairs be ruined by him?"

I am not sure about the ’Zhengtong Emperor’ of this world, but the Ying Emperor of Ming in the other world had not only brutally executed the Shaobao Yu, he had also sent the wives and children of the meritorious generals to the Mongols as slaves.

This man, after his restoration for years, ruined the merits and military reform of the Jingtai Emperor and the Shaobao’s righteousness.

Xiao Ci, the Minister of Revenue, was about to say that the Zhengtong Emperor had completely reformed and would never do so again. However, Li Xuan had already waved his sleeve abruptly: "Different paths lead to different ends! There is nothing to say between us. It can only be resolved on the battlefield. Get out of here before I decide to sacrifice you!"

Xiao Ci frowned, then calmly took to the sky: "I hope the Marquis of Guanjun won’t regret it!"

He noticed that Li Xuan had already lined up his troops on the riverbank preparing to cross. Even though Xiao Ci was not an expert in military strategy, he knew that such a military move was taboo and tantamount to stepping into a death trap!

Xiao Ci predicted that Liang Heng would inevitably be victorious, and so there was no need to continue to curry favor with Li Xuan or promise him the position of King of Liaodong.

However, Xiao Ci didn’t notice that far away ’Master Zhang of Zuochun House,’ Shang Hong, was watching him with a complex and pitying look.

At this moment, Li Xuan abruptly flicked his whip: "Order the entire army to cross the river at once!"

In that moment, the 39,700 soldiers of the God’s Machine Left and Right Camp, a total of 96 square formations, and the 70 field breech-loader cannons remaining in the army all simultaneously stepped onto the ice, causing a thunderous rumbling.