At dusk, Yuchi Gong led more than a hundred soldiers from Hedong City to Pujin Pass. He received an urgent news from Wang Xuanjing not long ago that the Tang army had launched a large increase in troops outside Pujin Pass, which made Yuchi Gong feel alert.

Just two days ago, he received a quick letter from Wei Yunqi. The negotiations between the two sides could not continue. The Tang army was very likely to break the military and reminded him to be prepared. It seems that it is likely that Wei Yunqi was hit by the words.

Yuchi Gong quickly walked to Pujin Pass in front of the gate of Pujin Pass. Wang Xuanjing had already led the crowd to wait here. He stepped forward and bowed, "I am not good at ease to see the general!"

"How is the situation?"

Yuchi Gong did not stop and continued to walk into the city with big strides. Wang Xuanjing hurriedly followed and said, "This afternoon, hundreds of people from the other side came to Guancheng to inspect. According to the observation of Beizhi, the general in charge is likely to be Qin King Li Shimin."

"Can you be sure?" Yuchi stopped.

"Only 60% sure of a humble position!"

Yuchi Gong knew that Wang Xuanjing was a very cautious person. Without a single word, his 60% confidence was equivalent to others' 90% confidence.

Yuchi Gong did not speak, and quickly walked up to the top of the city. Hundreds of soldiers on the top of the city raised their crossbows, and looked vigilantly at the thousands of Tang soldiers at the foot of the mountain outside the city. At this time, Tang soldiers were busy repairing fortifications, and several bluestone platforms had been built.

"Do you see what they are building?" Yuchi Gong asked at the stone platform.

"Bizhi thinks they are building a platform for slashing stone machines." Wang Xuanjing replied.

Yuchi Gong nodded, "That's right, it's indeed a catapult platform."

He looked at the camp in the distance for a moment. The flag of the camp in the Tang army had changed. The banner of the Li character had been inlaid with gold edges. This is the prince's logo. Wang Xuanjing should be right. The commander of the Tang army was replaced by Li Shentong to Li Shimin.

"General, what should we do?" Wang Xuanjing asked in a low voice.

"What do you think?" Yuchi Gong asked with a smile: "I want to hear your opinion?"

Wang Xuanjing was silent for a moment and said, "I dare not say anything about humble duties."

"You said that, would you still persuade me to surrender to the Tang Dynasty?" Yuchi Gong laughed.

"Of course not!"

Wang Xuanjing gritted his teeth and said, "I want to persuade the general to give up Pujin Pass!"

"Speak!" Yuchi Gong's eyes became deeper.

Perhaps because he felt that Yuchi Gong was not in conflict, Wang Xuanjing continued: "Pujin Pass is a natural danger to Bingzhou, but not to Guanzhong. Moreover, the forests on the mountain are too dense. The Tang army can completely use the cover of the forest to attack the city directly. As long as there are weapons to attack the city, it is inevitable to attack the city. Beizhi is very worried that we will not have time to destroy the floating bridge when we retreat. Instead of being in a hurry when retreating, it is better to retreat first and destroy the floating bridge directly, and then we build fortifications on the bank of the Yellow River and rely on the defense of the Yellow River. Beizhi feels more confident."

Yuchi Gong had a plan, their reinforcements had arrived, and he knew how to deal with the Tang army. After a moment of silence, Yuchi Gong said: "I can accept this plan. I will withdraw my troops to the east coast immediately and destroy the floating bridge directly."

Wang Xuanjing was overjoyed, "This humble position will definitely not disappoint the general."

Yuchi Gong nodded, "Before darkness, this matter must be completed!"

The Tang army spent a night building five stone platforms at the foot of the mountain, and then installed five heavy trenchers on the stone platforms. The trenchers had a range of 300 steps. Although attacking Pujin Pass required a backfire, the mountain was only tens of feet high, and the trenchers could still easily attack the top of the city.

As the sky gradually became bright, rumbling drums sounded in the Tang army camp, and then the camp gate opened. Teams of Tang soldiers walked out of the camp and rushed towards the foot of the mountain with murderous intent. Thirty thousand Tang soldiers set up formations at the foot of the mountain, with flags waving, swords and guns everywhere. Five heavy catapults were ready, just waiting for the commander Li Shimin to give the order.

At this time, Li Shimin rode on the horse and looked at the city wall from afar. He saw that the Sui soldiers wearing armor stood on the city wall. He didn't seem to be panicked and very steady. After watching for a moment, Li Shimin felt something was wrong, so he turned around and asked, "Is there any movement on the city wall yesterday?"

A scout lieutenant stepped forward and replied, "Report to your highness, there were Sui soldiers on the top of the city last night, but no one seemed to patrol."

Li Shimin frowned and immediately ordered: "Take a few brothers to the city and have a look."

The captain turned over and dismounted, waved his hand, and ran towards the top of the mountain with several soldiers. Li Shimin watched them run into the woods and looked up at the top of the city. He felt a little strange. Why did the Sui soldiers on the city not move at all, and he began to feel a little suspicious in his heart.

At this time, Changsun Wuji stepped forward and whispered: "Your Highness, there seems to be a fraud on the top of the city!"

"I noticed it, wait a little longer."

Not long after, the scout lieutenant rushed out of the woods and shouted, "Your Highness, the city is full of scarecrows!"

The Tang soldiers were in an uproar, and Li Shimin was furious and waved his sword, "Surprise the city!"

Thousands of soldiers ran towards the city like a tide. They used a giant tree to open the city gate. The soldiers rushed into the city. Li Shimin was so angry that he trembled all over and urged his horse to run towards Pujin Pass. Dozens of generals behind him also urged the horses to follow. After a moment, they rushed into Pujin Pass like a gust of wind.

The Pujin Pass was indeed empty. Apart from the Tang soldiers who had just entered, there was no Sui soldiers, nor a bag of food. In the urn, hundreds of grass men were piled up together, and several soldiers were igniting them with torches.

Li Shimin did not stop him and directly urged his horse to rush out of the East City Gate. The scene in front of him made him feel cold. As expected, the Sui army had destroyed the floating bridge leading to the opposite bank of the Yellow River, and destroyed it completely, without any trace, leaving only two large iron stakes tied with iron chains on the shore. At this time, the generals of the Tang army rushed out of the city gate one after another. The empty Yellow River made everyone stunned. Where did the floating bridge go?

Li Shimin punched the wall bricks hard. He knew very well that it was easy to seize Pujin Pass, but it was difficult to cross the Yellow River, and it was even more difficult to capture Hedong City. In particular, the Sui army took the initiative to withdraw its troops, which meant that their defense would be placed on the east bank of the Yellow River.

But no matter what, this fierce battle still needs to be fought. They must open up the passage between Guanzhong and Bingzhou, otherwise what should the Tang army in Taiyuan do?

Li Shimin immediately wrote a letter to his father, reporting to him that Pujin Pass had been seized and that Guanzhong threatened to be lifted. However, because the Sui army destroyed the floating bridge, they had to force cross the river, and the casualties would be unpredictable.

Li Shimin immediately ordered the recruitment of 300 small and medium-sized cargo ships from the nearest rivers, large and small. Although the Tang army built a canal that directly connects to Pujin Pass from the Wei River, the ships could not directly cross Pujin Pass and enter the Yellow River. Li Shimin ordered 10,000 soldiers to carry 300 ships from the canal through Pujin Pass and put them into the Yellow River.

At this time, Changsun Wuji offered a suggestion: "Your Highness, I have been observing for a long time and found that the Sui army has no ships at present. We can build a floating bridge to the center of the river, and soldiers board the ship from the center of the river. This will save the soldiers a lot of physical strength and ensure that the soldiers rush to the opposite shore as quickly as possible."

This plan won the approval of Li Shimin. He was also worried that the army was having some difficulty in crossing the Yellow River. Changsun Wuji's plan came like timely rain. Li Shimin immediately accepted the plan and ordered: "Transfer my order, the fortifications will first build a floating bridge to the center of the river!"

Li Shimin issued an order, and the three thousand fortification soldiers immediately began to act. They used two hundred small boats as bridges to start building a floating bridge in the Yellow River. Fortunately, the floating bridge in the Yellow River itself had a foundation. Although the Sui army demolished the bridge, the underwater part of the wooden piles were still there. As long as we use iron chains to pass through the big hole in the wooden piles under the water, the ships on the river surface will have a support and will not be washed away by the river.

The pontoon bridge was restored very smoothly. In just one day, the pontoon bridge on the Yellow River was built about 500 steps from the east bank. This distance was exactly where crossbows and catapults could not be attacked by the other side of the river. A huge platform had been built here, just like a temporary trestle pier. The long trestle extends from the west bank of the river to the center of the river. The temporary trestle pier can be parked in front, back and left and right on the temporary trestle pier. The long trestle pier has only advantageous points to dock, and dozens of medium-sized ships can be parked at one time.

Before dawn, countless fortification soldiers were consolidating the bridge on the trestle. Li Shimin personally directed the soldiers to work overtime on the trestle to build the bridge. He was also anxious. In the middle of the night, he received an order from his father to urgently send him, giving him only five days to take over Hedong City. If he couldn't take over, then he would continue to negotiate.

Li Shimin calculated the time. If he could successfully seize the east bank of the river before dark today, he would have four days to attack Hedong City. With the tall and solidity of Hedong City, it would be easier to seize it in four days.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly pointed at the northern river and shouted: "Your Highness, what is that?"

Li Shimin looked upwards to the upper reaches of the Yellow River and saw dozens of small highlights appearing on the river, like clusters of flames, drifting in their direction.

"not good!"

Li Shimin was shocked. It was the Sui army that wanted to use fire boats to burn the floating bridge. He ordered anxiously: "Three thousand spear soldiers will go to the floating bridge immediately!"

Ling Ru's mountain fell, and a spear soldier who had gathered and waited on the shore rushed to the floating bridge. At this time, the fireboat was less than a hundred steps away from them, and all the soldiers saw clearly. About seventy or eighty rafts floated on the river surface, and the raft was lit with raging fire. It was obvious that the Sui army was preparing to burn the pier that had just been built.

Many soldiers' faces were pale and panic and at a loss, but Li Shimin calmed down. He had found a solution and immediately ordered: "The water ghost goes into the water and overturns the raft!"

Dozens of water ghosts jumped into the water and swam towards the burning raft. The three thousand spearmen were already lined up on the trestle, holding the spear in their hands, ready to block the raft from approaching the pontoon bridge.
Chapter completed!