One night passed without a word, without a single sound. Xiao En returned to the city, Yang Yizhong set up camp. Even Zhang Maode used some method to silence those wealthy local families he had once mortgaged... And with some wine, meat, fruit, and melons sent out from the city, everything inside and outside remained safe and sound.

Not only that, but early the next morning, Yang Yizhong continued to march his troops eastward, with no extra words from within the city.

Over the next two days, the two thousand Imperial Guards marched cautiously, passing through Jingdezhen, then Guanshan Town, and finally Wushan, arriving at the banks of the Ji River. They prepared to cross the Ji River from Beixin Bridge behind Wushan to support the Pingyin front line downstream on the other side of the river.

However, Commander Yang's flanking maneuver ended there, because Zhang Rong, the garrison commander of Dongping Prefecture and a major leader of Liangshanpo, finally sent someone with a 'military order' demanding that Yang Yizhong, this fish that slipped through the net, stop at the Ji River and not advance any further without authorization. Otherwise, he wouldn't care about Imperial Guards or regular troops, official armies or bandit gangs; he would treat them all as enemy troops.

Yang Yizhong, utterly helpless, was nonetheless infuriated.

Having arrived at the Ji River, he had already scouted the area and knew that the fighting ahead was fierce... Zhang Rong had concentrated almost all the forces of Liangshanpo and Dongping Prefecture, personally leading no fewer than twenty thousand men. Relying on the fortifications of Pingyin city, he was constantly engaged in battle with the puppet Qi forces around Pingyin. On the puppet Qi side, Liu Yu's eldest son, Liu Lin, led more than twenty thousand Jinan soldiers, and Kong Yanzhou, the puppet Qi Marshal, led more than ten thousand Yanzhou soldiers. They had slightly more troops, so their momentum was also greater.

And to be honest, among these three, Zhang Rong and Kong Yanzhou were truly capable people, regardless of their morals or stances, and Liu Lin was no incompetent son either... Moreover, as things stood, just as Grand Councilor Wang Boyan had said that day, those leaders of the puppet Qi had no way to retreat from their positions, so they would never be careless in military matters.

As for Zhang Rong, not only was he recognized as invincible on inland waters, but he was also a famous hero in Jingdong in the past. Moreover, he had always regarded the defeat caused by Kong Yanzhou's betrayal as the greatest humiliation of his life... And when this kind of emotional Jianghu figure became fierce, how intense would it be?

Therefore, these three had been fighting on the front lines for less than ten days, but they had been engaging in ambushes and strong attacks, establishing strongholds and controlling cities, burning earthworks, and it was truly a lively affair.

But it must be said that this liveliness, viewed from another perspective, meant that both sides were in a state of intense stalemate.

So, logically, if Zhang Rong could put aside some of the grudges in his heart and let Yue Fei lead a significant number of troops across the Wen River, it would almost certainly be a guaranteed victory, completely achieving the kind of clean and decisive victory that Zhao Guan Jia expected.

Even letting Yang Yizhong's two thousand elite armored soldiers join the front line might bring some surprises.

However, didn't this Liangshan bandit leader always have great prejudice against the government troops? Didn't he regard that defeat as the greatest humiliation of his life, to the point that he felt ashamed to even meet Yue Fei after the defeat?

So, back to the present, two thousand Imperial Guards could play a big role in a battle involving tens of thousands of people, but if they really angered Zhang Rong and stubbornly went up, they might really end up crushed into dust in the grindstone of war. And Yang Yizhong, as the Imperial Commander, leading the most basic armed force of Zhao Guan Jia, was there to see blood and hone the troops, but not to risk throwing the entire force out without principle.

Or rather, the troops could be thrown out, but it had to be worthwhile... As a confidant of the Emperor, Yang Yizhong was very clear about Zhao Guan Jia's certain ideas about the army.

Therefore, Yang Yizhong chose to stay at Wushan, on the northwest side of the southwest-northeast Ji River, right at the foot of Wushan, at the permanent pontoon bridge convenient for marching, which was the famous Beixin Bridge... and sent military dispatches to Yue Fei in Zhongdu further south (across the Ji River and the Wen River) for communication and reporting.

However, after waiting for three days in the sweltering heat, not only did the messenger, who was originally expected to return in three days, not return, but instead a rainstorm arrived, and in the midst of the rainstorm, uninvited guests suddenly came.

It is said that the weather changed suddenly that day, with torrential rain and dark skies. Around noon, a force of troops advanced rapidly from the north of the Ji River, passed through the southern slopes of Wushan, and went straight to Beixin Bridge, then crashed into the Imperial Guards' camp.

The two sides suddenly encountered each other in the rain, each shocked, and then quickly erupted into fierce fighting.

For the attacking force, encountering the defending troops at this vital pass was a natural reason to strike directly, and for Yang Yizhong, he almost immediately realized the purpose of the approaching army—Zhang Rong was now exhausted, so the attacking army must be from the puppet Qi or the Jin, and their purpose must be to take advantage of the heavy rain to cross the river, outflank Pingyin from the rear, in an attempt to wipe out Zhang Rong's main force.

Back to the present, although it was daytime, the weather was dim in the rain, the roads were muddy, and the banners could not be unfurled, so the battle began with the most intense and cruel melee combat.

The Imperial Guards were caught off guard, and because they failed to put on their armor in time, they suffered hundreds of combat casualties right away. But the sacrifice of these troops and Yang Yizhong's decisiveness undoubtedly bought valuable time for the follow-up troops. So when the follow-up troops put on their armor and prepared, pouring out of the barracks in hundred-man teams and ten-man teams, the battle quickly turned around again.

The excellent armor, high-quality and complete weapons, carefully selected soldiers, the protection of the camp, the terrain information advantage brought by being stationed here for several days, and more importantly, the chaos brought by the rain, coupled with Yang Yizhong's resolute command, allowed the Imperial Guards to发挥 (fā huī) their combat power to the fullest. In contrast, countless attacking troops were blocked under Wushan, facing the small but exquisite camp, and the terrain obstruction of the southern slopes of Wushan caused them to lose their greatest numerical advantage.

At the same time, the rainstorm, the raid, and the melee led to serious command confusion, so that the attacking troops did not know how the battle was going in front, but simply kept throwing troops into the battle.

Thus, in the summer rain, on the banks of the Ji River, next to the bridge, the sound of iron clashing, the sound of wailing and crying, the sound of shouting, and the sound of wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning, which dominated everything no matter what, created a mixed, teeth-grinding symphony of battle.

Coupled with the stench of blood that the rain could not cover, the Song army camp guarding Beixin Bridge instantly became a meat grinder.

All afternoon, the rain poured down, and in the midst of lightning and thunder, corpses piled up and gradually began to block traffic, eventually becoming the main factor in slowing down the intensity of the battle.

As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened, and the attacking troops finally had to abandon the battle due to visibility problems. The Imperial Guards could only light torches in the camp, trying to shout, hoping that their injured comrades could take the initiative to speak out for help... But that was all, in the pitch-black rainy night, coupled with the intense fatigue, cleaning the battlefield was undoubtedly a luxury. After a period of chaos, no one knew how many people were rescued.

However, it was precisely because of this that the next morning, the rain drizzled non-stop, and as soon as the sunlight appeared through the clouds, the Song army, which had regained a little mobility, immediately took action and began to quickly clean up the battlefield.

Yang Yizhong, who had not removed his armor all night, also returned early to the camp where the fighting had been fiercest yesterday to inspect.

However, in the faint morning light, he was shocked to find that in the constantly raining camp, the water flowed down from under the piles of corpses, forming a gurgling waterway, and then flowed to the Ji River, but there was not much blood in it.

It's not that there was no blood.

In fact, almost every time the Imperial Guards, who were roughly cleaning the battlefield and trying to find their own wounded soldiers, turned over a corpse, obvious blood stains would be integrated into the rainwater on the ground, but they were quickly diluted, muddied, and then disappeared by more water flow.

In other words, if the corpses were not still piled up in the camp, if the wounded were not still wailing, if the broken camp and messy weapons were not right in front of them, the heavy rain that had not stopped all night had completely covered up the traces of yesterday's fierce battle.

Mere human power is still not worth mentioning in front of nature.

Just as Yang Yizhong was staring at the water flowing under his feet in a daze, suddenly, an extraordinarily horrified scream rang out not far away, causing the Imperial Guards who were roughly cleaning the battlefield to be stunned, but soon, these people returned to normal.

As for Yang Yizhong, who had not removed his armor all night, he stood still with his knife, like a sculpture, ignoring it, just staring at the water flowing under his feet in a daze.

"Commander..."

In the slightly smaller rain, Zhai Biao, carrying a broadsword with obvious nicks, flashed out from the previous wailing location and approached, but looked ferocious. "I've found out, although there were many Jin uniforms mixed in, they are not Jin people, nor are they from Jinan Prefecture, nor are they from Kong Yanzhou of Yanzhou, but from Li Cheng of Qingzhou, totaling no less than twenty thousand! And they didn't come along the Ji River, but after the war started, they went directly to Liaocheng in Hebei with Du Yan, the Mizhou leader under Li Cheng, where they exchanged for Jin banners, and then sought some old Jin armor from Daming Prefecture, and then suddenly crossed the river the day before yesterday and came here, wanting to scare us with Jin banners, but unexpectedly the rain was too heavy and they didn't show them."

Yang Yizhong suddenly realized, thoughtfully, but directly said it out: "Feigning one action while secretly taking another... Li Cheng didn't go to the easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack Yizhou at all, but had already discussed to come as this surprise force, but happened to encounter us... Have someone send this matter to Zhang Zhenfu of Pingyin and Yue Taiwei of Zhongdu immediately!"

"Yes!" Zhai Biao responded, but did not move.

In the drizzling rain, Yang Yizhong took a step, then rested his hand on his sword and looked back: "Anything else?"

"That thief was in pain and said a lot of things." Zhai Biao still looked ferocious. "This time, Li Cheng's army has at least twenty thousand men, and they came from the Yellow River, and the ones who fought yesterday were mainly the troops of Du Yan, the Mizhou leader under Li Cheng..."

"I already know." Yang Yizhong's expression was normal. "Didn't you just say that?"

"Commander, what I mean is..." Zhai Biao stared wide-eyed at each other. "If Li Cheng's troops crossed the Yellow River from Liaocheng, then the most convenient place to cross the Ji River recently is Beixin Bridge here. He had no reason to split his troops and cross the Ji River from Huajiakou downstream, which is close to Pingyin. If he's not careful, he will be discovered by the Pingyin army... But conversely, once blocked today, the sneak attack fails and it will inevitably change to a strong attack, then Li Cheng may also split his troops and cross the Ji River from multiple places to forcibly encircle Pingyin."

"I know this too." Yang Yizhong's expression remained unchanged.

"Commander," Zhai Biao gritted his teeth and said again. "Although we won yesterday, we have few troops after all, and we lost two or three hundred brothers in the first encounter. This is only the scale of six or seven thousand men of Du Yan's vanguard under Li Cheng, and Li Cheng's main force is about to arrive, and the rain today doesn't look any better than yesterday..."

"Zhai Biao, what exactly do you want to say?!" Yang Yizhong finally lost his patience. "When making suggestions in the army, you should be straightforward."

"Commander, I'm not saying to withdraw the army and sell Pingyin's rear to Li Cheng for nothing. Although Xiao En of Yanggu is a fool, he can't do such a thing... I want to say, can we withdraw to the other side of the river and defend across the river?" Zhai Biao's words attracted the attention of several commanders and captains around him.

In fact, not only these officers, but Yang Yizhong himself was silent for a moment.

Defending across the river is not only about effectively reducing the impact of the inferior number of troops, but more importantly, it can effectively avoid fighting. The Imperial Guards are so elite, and if they also have the advantage of defending across the river, guarding the bridge with peace of mind, they can almost be in an invincible position.

Therefore, doing so seems to be the most appropriate, because he can protect the troops to the greatest extent.

In addition to this, there is another point that Zhai Biao did not say, but the meaning is very obvious, that is, if it is really necessary, that is, if Zhang Rong of Pingyin is surrounded, or the entire army is defeated, then the one thousand Imperial Guards who have retreated to the other side of the Ji River in advance can retreat south calmly, cross the Wen River and join Yue Fei... Zhang Rong doesn't regard himself as a government army, so why should the Imperial Guards risk their lives for him?

Saying that there is no sectarian bias, but still can't avoid it.

But soon, Yang Yizhong, as the commander of this elite force, made up his mind, then shook his head in response: "No!"

Everyone was stunned.

Yang Yizhong did not hide it, but explained the reason clearly:

"Although the rain is small, it hasn't cleared up, and it's difficult to monitor clearly across the river. Once we cross the river to defend... if I were Li Cheng, knowing that the troops on the other side of the river are all armored and extraordinarily elite, and difficult to attack strongly, I would only leave a few small troops to act as a feint, and then the main force would sneak down the river, and cross strongly from Huajiakou... At that time, wouldn't our two thousand Imperial Guards be idle? But if we stay on this side of the river, Li Cheng will have to divide at least several times more troops than us to monitor, and may even intend to use all his troops to swallow us in this rainy day before crossing the Ji River. In this way, although we are in immediate danger, we can play a big role in the overall situation!"

The officers were stunned, then they realized, but after realizing, many of them became hesitant again.

"I know what you're thinking." Rain dripped from the edge of his armor, and Yang Yizhong continued to rest his hand on his sword and looked around, speaking in public. "You think I'm betting all of Zhao Guan Jia's two thousand Imperial Guards on this Ji River and Wushan, but in fact it hasn't reached that point... because you must not forget that the reason why the puppet Qi troops are launching this offensive is because they think that Yue Taiwei's troops are being reorganized and will definitely be difficult to fight, so they dare to take a bold gamble and take Dongping Prefecture. In other words, this time the puppet Qi is making a show, and they haven't included Yue Taiwei's troops in their calculations, or even us, otherwise why would we have encountered each other so suddenly yesterday? But you and I both know that Yue Taiwei's troops can fight, and we have come! In other words, in the overall situation of the battle of Dongping Prefecture, the advantage is with the The Filature of the Song! So as long as we can hold on for two or three days, and ask Yue Taiwei to no longer worry about Zhang Zhenfu's situation and directly send troops, then the Pingyin side will definitely have a victory, and there will definitely be reinforcements here, and Li Cheng will definitely leave! On the contrary, if we retreat to the other side of the river at this time, we may bury the overall situation! And if that's the case, what face will we have to face Zhao Guan Jia when we go back?"

Speaking to this point, without waiting for everyone to speak, Yang Yizhong directly pulled out his knife and said coldly to the surrounding officers: "The reasoning is over, from now on, no more discussion about crossing the river, guard the camp and protect the bridge with peace of mind, those who disobey orders will be executed!"

After all, they had participated in several bloody battles, and they were also proud and brave generals. Hearing this, they didn't say anything more, just lowered their heads to take orders.

However, just as Yang Yizhong had just conveyed his decision, before everyone could rest, sure enough, in the slightly smaller rain, a large number of troops wearing Jin army armor came to attack rapidly, and in the rain, they became a dark mass, casting a shadow over people's hearts...

Although it was summer, the rain still had too much of an impact. At this time, the Song army with the camp had just prepared, while the puppet Qi troops camping outside had already launched an attack, which shows that they should have received pressure from the top and had to do it hastily.

Therefore, they will pay the price for this.

ps: From today on, I will start a new life, write books with peace of mind, 140,000 words last month, and 150,000 words of updates will be completed this month...

Then I'll ask again, am I really too old? Or are you too young? Anyway, no one has seen "Da Yu Sha Jia" and "Jin Ping Mei"? Xiao En and Zhang Maode...