Chapter 576 Forced Crossing of the Yellow River

Chapter 576 Forced Crossing of the Yellow River

After everything was ready, Ma Di led tens of thousands of Han troops southward to the Yellow River ferry.

At the same time, Guanqiu Jian had been waiting at the south bank for a long time. In order to guard against the Han army, he not only burned the pontoon bridge, but also built an earthen city as a barrier.

"As expected of a veteran who can put some pressure on me, Guanqiu Jian is really capable." Ma Di looked at the deployment of the Wei army in Henan, and after taking into account the geographical advantages, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I have to say, this defensive method is really good. If I hadn't come here personally, he would probably be able to hold on to this ferry."

"It's a pity that such a great talent turned out to be a loser... Ahem, in short, we have to fight quickly!"

"General, I'm afraid this won't be a quick victory, right?" Jiang Wei was behind Ma Su, also observing the terrain. Soon, he would be able to determine based on his combat experience that this ferry would probably not be captured.

This river bridge crossing is an important connection between Hanoi County and Sizhou in the south. It is usually connected by a pontoon bridge. But now the pontoon bridge has been burned down by Guanqiu Jian, and all the ships in Hebei have been dealt with in advance.

Therefore, on such a wide river, the Han army could only build rafts to cross the river.

If all the regular troops dispatched this time are the Han's regular troops, then they might still have to wait for a battle. But now they are leading either the Hu soldiers from Six Towns or the Huns from Bingzhou.

No matter where they come from, these northerners have one thing in common: they are not good at water. If you let them cross the Yellow River on a small raft without the obstruction of the Wei army, I'm afraid it would be a bit overwhelming.

"General, in my opinion, it is better to use your reputation to sit here and intimidate the Wei people to defend the ferry. Then let me lead thousands of elite troops to attack from other places in a roundabout way, and I will definitely achieve great success!"

Jiang Wei made a suggestion to Ma Su at this time, which sounded quite safe. However, Ma Su refused without hesitation and said directly,

"No! We don't have that time."

"I have received the news before. This time Guanqiu Jian divided his troops and came back to guard the ferry. He still has most of his troops on Yaohan Road. This is a piece of fat!"

"If this cannot be resolved quickly, it may be difficult for the main force of the Wei army to successfully withdraw to Luoyang. It may cost us a lot of unnecessary losses during the Eastern Expedition next year!"

"So no matter what, we must fight quickly!"

Ma Su has no intention of letting go of any piece of fat that reaches his mouth, and he has always been adventurous. After traveling through Bingzhou like a tourist, if you let Ma Su stay in Hebei, you might as well kill him.

However, Jiang Wei could only spread his hands and said with a wry smile,

"But our tribe is really not used to water. It's easy to get into trouble even on a big boat, let alone the current situation."

"It doesn't matter, I already have a plan!" Ma Su smiled and waved his hand.

"Now you go and order the soldiers to build a raft, and go to the wealthy people in Hanoi to ask for chains and ropes to connect the rafts together. When the soldiers get on the boat, they will lie down on the raft and follow the wind to cross the Yellow River!"

"As long as we reach the south bank of the Yellow River, we will have won half the battle."

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After Ma Di issued an order to forcibly cross the Yellow River, the Han army began to build large rafts on the north bank and connected them with ropes and iron chains.

Among them, the prominent families in Hanoi County provided strong support. With the help of craftsmen raised by wealthy families, hundreds of rafts were quickly built.

Such a massive move obviously could not be concealed from the eyes and ears of Wei Jun. But to Ma Su's surprise, Guan Qiujian didn't express anything about it, as if he didn't care at all.

In just a few days, a large raft was built to cross the Yellow River. They are connected by ropes so that the boats can travel smoothly on the river.

At the same time, Ma Di also selected two thousand soldiers who knew how to swim, and together with the selected pioneers, they formed the vanguard group. Three thousand elite soldiers were linked together with iron ropes, and Ma Su planned to use the same method to give Guanqiu Jian another big eye.

However, just after all arrangements were made, Jiang Wei insisted on joining Ma Su in the vanguard.

"General, I am very skilled in martial arts. If you join us in crossing the border, we will be able to defeat the Wei army more easily!"

"But you are from Longyou, and you don't know the nature of water?" Ma Di frowned and said.

"It doesn't matter. I'll be more cautious. Just hold on to the raft and nothing will happen!" Jiang Wei replied firmly.

"But, follow closely when the time comes." Seeing Jiang Wei's resolute attitude, Ma Di finally nodded and agreed to his request for a fight.

After Ma Su made all preparations, he finally chose a foggy early morning and the Han army launched a forcible crossing of the Yellow River.

People in the north know that there is usually fog in the early morning hours of winter. Ma Su also took advantage of this moment to lead the Han army to launch a river-crossing operation.

Three thousand soldiers of the Han army quietly got on the raft and carefully took advantage of the northwest wind to paddle towards Henan.

It is winter now and the Yellow River is dry, so the water is not that big. After the rope was connected, the bumps suffered by the Han soldiers were not big.

Therefore, until the Han army arrived near the center of the river, all the soldiers were still safe and sound, and no one had any accidents.

However, just when the Han army passed through the center of the river, there was a sudden change in the Wei army camp on the south bank of the Yellow River.

"put!!"

Following the order, dozens of boulders suddenly rose into the air and smashed towards the Han army!

Guanqiu Jian was no longer the young general he once was, and it was obvious that Ma Di couldn't deceive him with his calculations. Moreover, he had already seen the chain link technique before, and had deployed a large number of Thunderbolt Cars to deal with it before the war started.

As I said before, Guan Qiu Jian has a very strong learning ability. It would be difficult to defeat Guan Qiu Jian a second time with the same move.

"It seems that they have been prepared for a long time!" Ma Su's heart sank, and he quickly turned around and ordered.

"Hold on to the raft and be careful of the enemy's stones!"

But obviously, Ma Di said it too late. A large number of falling rocks fell overwhelmingly, quickly causing huge waves in the originally stable river surface!

At this time, the unaccustomed nature of the Hu soldiers under Ma Su was clearly exposed. Even under the chain of iron ropes, many soldiers still fell into the water and began to struggle in the water in a panic.

Jiang Wei, who was following Ma Su, was even more unlucky. A piece of gravel directly shattered the raft, and he suddenly fell into the cold water of the Yellow River.

"General, save me!" Jiang Wei was shocked. In panic, he drank two mouthfuls of Yellow River water, filling his mouth with sand.

Seeing Jiang Wei fall into the water, Ma Su was helpless and could only turn around and jump into the water to rescue him. However, as soon as he plunged into the Yellow River, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Wait a minute..."