As the sky gradually became brighter, Meng Dangui finally saw the situation on the other side of the river. The floating bridge on the river had been completely burned down, leaving only a little charred wreckage piled up on the shore. The other side of the river was deserted and there was no one to see. The city gate was closed in the distance, and the banner of King Peng still stood on the top of the city.

"General, there are no enemy troops on the other side!" A general whispered to Meng Dangui.

Meng Dangui shook his head, "There must be an enemy army, otherwise the defenders in the city will definitely come to the shore to greet us."

His eyes looked around and finally landed in a forest in the northwest direction. It was the only place where the other shore could hide. The Sui army should be in that forest. He sneered in his heart, how many troops can a small forest have?

Meng Dangui immediately shouted: "Tell me my order and build a floating bridge immediately!"

Several troops immediately ran around to cut down trees. The Si Shui River was about tens of feet wide, much narrower than the Huai River. The water flowed smoothly and there were no whirlpools in the water, so it was not difficult to build a temporary pontoon bridge. As long as more than a hundred large rafts were connected together, a temporary pontoon bridge could be built.

Although this kind of raft pontoon bridge is not strong enough to be able to take a large cart of supplies, ordinary soldiers can run across the river quickly. Meng Dangui does not need supplies to cross the river. As long as he can absolutely control Xiapi County, he can control the entire Xiapi County.

Meng Dangui also knew that his brother was fighting fiercely with Yang Yichen in Pengcheng County. Once Zhang Xuan's army entered Pengcheng County, the consequences would be unimaginable. He had to stop Zhang Xuan in Xiapi County at all costs and even drive him out of Xiapi County.

At this moment, several cavalrymen rushed from the south. They turned over and dismounted and stumbled to report, "General, the main force of the Sui army ten miles south, with about 10,000 people."

Meng Dangui frowned, and the main force of the Sui army finally came. He asked casually: "Is it the east or west bank of the river?"

"Report to the general, just like us, he is on the west bank of Si Shui!"

Meng Dangui's face changed drastically. He was stunned. The Sui army was not on the east bank, but on the west bank. It was only ten miles apart, so didn't it come soon?

Meng Dangui was immediately anxious and ordered: "Stop building the floating bridge, and the whole army gathered immediately!"

Meng Dangui suddenly realized that the Sui army was going to fight with him. I want to read a book to make him feel nervous and excited, and more hopeful. He has an army of 30,000, three times that of the Sui army. Can he defeat Zhang Xuan, a powerful army in one battle?

Half an hour later, 30,000 thieves appeared in the boundless wilderness and confronted the 14,000 Sui army several miles away.

When the Sui army was waiting for the formation, the army of bandits in the distance also appeared. They had no formation. They were covered with darkness, with more than 30,000 people, and there were thousands of cavalry among them. They were mixed together, their suits were mottled, and their weapons were all kinds. It was difficult to tell whether they were ordinary peasants or soldiers of the bandits.

Zhang Xuan sneered in his heart. Such a mob wanted to compete with him. This Meng Dan Gui was really fascinated by **.

Of course, Zhang Xuan decided to fight the decisive battle with the bandits after getting enough intelligence. He had 14,000 people, and the enemy was only twice as good as himself, but his soldiers had extremely strong combat power and superb equipment. Even if they were one to three, they were not afraid.

The key is that as long as he can defeat this thirty thousand thief army, he can not only occupy the entire territory of Xia Pi, but there will be no troops west of Pengcheng County. He can drive straight into Pengcheng County and join forces with Yang Yichen to wipe out Meng Haigong's rebellion.

"General. The bandit army actually has cavalry?"

Luo Shixin smiled disdainfully and said, "I'm afraid they even have mules and donkeys!"

Zhang Xuan did not scold him this time, but just shook his head and said lightly: "Don't be careless, be careful that the enemy will use this attitude to confuse us!"

He ordered again: "Tell Pei Xingyan that he would prepare to attack the thief army from behind."

Several eagles immediately flew up from the Sui army and flapped their wings and flew eastward. Pei Xingyan was in the north of Xiapi County, and was more than twenty miles away from Zhang Xuan's main force. They were contacted by the letter eagle. Pei Xingyan should be able to find a second floating bridge in the north and attack the bandit army from behind with the cavalry.

"Woo!" The horn sounded suddenly, and the thief soldiers three miles away moved. Thousands of people screamed and rushed towards the side. They were not fast and got closer. Zhang Xuan's eyes suddenly narrowed. He saw clearly that the person rushing in front was more than a thousand old, weak, women and children.

Thousands of thieves had already rushed hundreds of steps away. Their figures were a little different and their voices were extremely frightened. Zhang Xuan had already seen clearly that the more than 2,000 thieves and cavalry running in front were all old and weak women. They were forced to ride on mules or donkeys, and were wrapped in cavalry behind them and charged forward.

Zhang Xuan couldn't help but feel a cold grin on the face of the commander of the thief army. Maybe this is his surprise weapon! Use women and old men to welcome the Sui army's arrow formation.

At this time, all the soldiers of the Sui army looked at Zhang Xuan, should these old and weak women be killed or not? Zhang Xuan squinted his eyes and looked at the sky. The sky had changed. It was cloudy just now, but now it was dark clouds rolling. A stream of sand and stones flew in front of the formation, sand and dust filled the air, and a heavy rain was coming.

Zhang Xuan showed a cold smile on his lips. He was laughing at the enemy commander who was in a cocoon. He could have had the chance to compete with the Sui army, but the other party wrapped so many civilians in the army. No matter who the thief army was, he underestimated himself too much. Will Zhang Xuan be tied up by old and weak women?

"Prepare to attack!"

Zhang Xuan whispered the first order.

Five thousand crossbowmen in front of the team stepped forward, and five thousand dark military crossbows pointed into the air, and murderous intent condensed on the Xun crossbow machine. The long swords of the Sui army on both sides were unsheathed and spears were like forests, waiting for the arrival of a moment of explosion.

The left-wing general Yuchi Gong and the right-wing general Luo Shixin, each leading 4,000 troops and accumulating strength, were already impatient.

The old and weak were getting closer and closer to the women, and they could already see them waving their hands in panic and telling the Sui army that they had no weapons. These old and women were villagers nearby. They lived peacefully for generations, never experienced the cruelty of war like today, nor were they so close to death like they are now.

They did not realize that they had become the scapegoat for the thief army, nor did they expect that thousands of thief cavalry were following them. They just wanted to escape from death and ran desperately, getting closer and closer, less than a hundred steps away from the Sui army, and entered the range of killing and shooting of crossbow arrows.

At this time, some old men behind were aware of the danger, and they began to stop the livestock and planned to turn around and escape. However, they were forced by the fierce thief soldiers to continue moving forward with their spears.
Chapter completed!