What was to come was bound to come. No matter how hard the Goguryeo army tried, the river was still frozen. Moreover, Li Xiang had stretched out his 200,000-strong army across dozens of miles of river. Could you pry open those dozens of miles of river? It was simply impossible.
Before daybreak, the sound of water hitting the river was still there on the opposite side. Li Xiang had already ordered the troops on both wings to prepare to cross the river. The two armies had a total of more than 400 people, with 200 people in a team. They were all good swimmers, and the people in front and behind were tied with ropes. If you encountered any problems, the people in front and behind could pull you up so that you would not fall directly into the ice hole and drown.
Everyone is still carrying iron chains on their backs. After crossing the river, they will have to find a way to fix the chains. Then it will be time for our army to cross the river. The first few hundred people who cross will have the task of seizing a position. Holding the crossbows and the best steel knives in their hands, even if there are ten times more enemies around you, you must hold on.
It can be seen from their size that these people are all strong and healthy. They were all picked by Li Xiang from 200,000 people. Some of them are his own system army. These people have very strong combat effectiveness. They only need to hold on for half an incense stick of time before the second batch of troops will be able to pass. Then there will be a steady stream of troops, which will spread from point to surface and explode in all directions.
General Niu Jinda personally led a team of people there, and Su Dingfang was not to be outdone. Li Xiang originally did not want to let the two of them go, but he also knew that they were eager to make achievements, and that there must be someone in charge of the front line, so Li Xiang let the two of them go. If Li Shimin had not sent an imperial edict to the military camp, Li Xiang was still planning to take the assault team there.
Although Li Shimin often gave Li Xiang trouble, he was still very protective of his grandson at critical moments. After all, he was the heir to his throne. The future prosperity of the Tang Dynasty depended entirely on Li Xiang. If anything went wrong, would Li Chengqian and his brothers be left to take care of him? That would be the end of the entire Tang Dynasty, and Li Shimin understood this very well.
The two teams crossed the river in the dark. Their feet were wrapped with cloth, so they were slightly less slippery. However, many people fell down. However, they slowly stood up with the help of the rope and continued to catch up with the main group.
They had trained many times by the river before, so they could handle any emergency, not to mention that Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang were traveling with the army.
Behind Li Xiang, hundreds of crossbows are ready, just waiting for the other side to send us a signal, so that we will know where to bombard. Now we can't bombard casually. If we accidentally hit our own people, it will be a real treat for the enemy.
"How's the artillery preparation going? Once we receive the signal from the enemy, you must throw as many shells as possible over there in the shortest possible time. You may remember the essence of fighting on the grasslands: we must fire a large number of shells within the time we can."
Li Xiang calculated the time and realized that our people would soon reach the river.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. We are fully prepared. In addition to us, there is another team of reserve troops in the rear. If we become tired, someone will come to replace us immediately."
Long Qi is mainly responsible for the management of this army, and Li Xiang is not confident in handing it over to other people.
Li Xiang was well aware of Long Qi's ability to do things. As long as he said there was no problem, there would definitely be no problem later. This was also the result of long-term work experience.
"The Tang army has crossed the river..."
With a shout from the other side of the river, the Tang army was finally discovered. It was impossible for hundreds of people to arrive at the opposite side of the river without being discovered, but this man only shouted this one time and was then shot to death by a crossbow.
The place where the Tang army crossed the river was not a place heavily guarded by the Goguryeo army, so even if this person exposed the traces of the Tang army, it would take some time for other Goguryeo troops to kill them. Moreover, from Li Xiang's position, many Goguryeo soldiers in the distance had no intention of fighting at all. They actually ran south in a swarm.
In the Goguryeo military camp, many troops fled from Jiangbei. They were not idle during this period in the military camp. To escape in the war, they must have an organization, so they kept communicating with each other privately. At the beginning, there were only ordinary soldiers, and later even some grassroots officers came in.
These people know a trick. If you want to escape during the war, you must escape at the first moment the war starts. If you can't escape at this time, then you will have no chance to escape next time. The Tang Dynasty army is advancing much faster than you. Many of them have suffered losses in Jiangbei.
Su Dingfang and Niu Junda were ready for battle. Niu Jinda asked his men to line up in two rows, and they would release serial poisons continuously. However, after waiting for half an incense stick of time, the second batch of troops came from behind, and only dozens of people were killed in front of them. The scene they imagined did not even happen.
The situation on Su Dingfang's side was a little worse. Hundreds of people surrounded them, but after seeing the power of the chain crossbow, these people's first wave of attack was defeated. The people behind saw that Su Dingfang's people were so powerful, so they simply stopped moving forward. Although they shouted very loudly, no one took a step forward.
"The Prime Minister has escaped..."
"General Zuo has escaped..."
The spies hidden in the Goguryeo military camp also came out. These spies were hidden there at great expense to Zhangsun Wuji. Normally, these people were no different from ordinary Goguryeo soldiers and did not provide any information to the Tang army, so that they could remain hidden.
Now it is time to use them again. The surrounding Goguryeo soldiers are in chaos, but some are still resisting. However, after hearing the news, those who are resisting are no longer willing to resist. Many of them have already fled south, including some generals.
"There's a signal, artillery fire directly in front of us."
The observers who were watching the situation on the other side also discovered the signals from the opposite side. After these groups of artillery shells were fired, the Goguryeo army must have become even more chaotic!
"The whole army crosses the river."
Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Xiang issued the order to cross the river...
