A gap suddenly appeared in the Cheng family's team. It was as if a new road had been opened in the black woods, and the roadbed was made of broken bones and flesh.
The team was eerily quiet, and the horses stopped moving. Both people and horses were unable to react to the sudden change.
"Spread out." Cheng Liang hissed. At this time, if the team dares to gather together, it will simply provide the opponent with an excellent living target.
The Cheng family's cavalry finally came to their senses at this time and dispersed in all directions, sparsely forming a sunken fan shape facing the city gate.
Cheng Liang stepped forward with a lunge, and while pulling out his saber to guard against possible arrow attacks, he pulled Hulan Fuyan's horse back quickly and did not stop until he was two hundred steps away.
Fortunately, Wu Gen did not fire his arrow again, otherwise Mr. Shuzhen, who was still stunned in place, might have been stabbed with candied haws on a stick on the spot.
When they arrived at a safe place, Hulan Fuyan and Cheng Liang were both frightened and uneasy. According to what the intelligence said, I originally thought that these were just wandering bandits, just like the countless bad guys and thieves in this vast mountain. When the army stepped forward, they were frightened at first. After a while of intimidation, many of them ran away. The men and horses will become like birds and beasts after one wave.
Unexpectedly, today it was the other way around. The other party actually took the initiative to attack, and the strange arrows were so lethal.
Cheng Liang felt a little regretful at this time. He didn't bring more experts and rashly followed the son of a concubine of the Hulan family to this place.
Hulan Fuyan actually had some regrets. After receiving the message from the Heita family, he carefully studied Wu Gen's possible marching route and contacted the small families Wu Gen passed along the way. There are connections with Yanxing Road, which borders Tieshou Province.
In some small towns near Wu Gen's march route, some troops were deliberately withdrawn to lure Wu Gen into the city so that he could send people to encircle and annihilate them.
Zhanliu City is like this. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a few horses in the city. There is nothing that can be done about it. Hulan Fuyan only acted privately this time and did not get the endorsement of his family.
I also found those ten thousand families, but these people ignored him, were perfunctory, and had a very negative attitude.
m In desperation, Hulan Fuyan could only look for a smaller family. That's it, these small families are just trying to make ends meet, and it takes a long time to pull off the skin.
This time the Cheng family sent out people, and it took them two days to send them out. According to the information provided by the Heita family, they had dispersed Wu Gen's people, and the rest fled into the mountains.
And according to people who escaped from Zhanliu City this time, there were only about sixty or seventy people who entered the city, and there were also some wounded.
With such a small force, the Cheng family sent more than 300 clan soldiers, three against one, which was enough. These are the soldiers of the Cheng family. They are well-equipped, and Cheng Liang, who is good at leading troops, is here in person. They can kill the opponent with a bunch of them.
Unexpectedly, the plan went smoothly and Wu Gen also came. As soon as the two sides met, Wu Gen took the lead and almost shot the two leaders to death.
If this matter were to spread, it would really become a big joke.
"The other party is just relying on the power of bows and arrows. In fact, there are not many people. Why don't we send people into the city." Hulan Fuyan dismounted and discussed the next move in a low voice with Cheng Liang and others.
Cheng Liang glanced at Zhanliu City behind him, gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "I will send someone to check the situation of other city gates before making a decision. Cheng Jie." Cheng Jie, who was huddled in the crowd, hurried away. Come over, Cheng Liang has a ferocious look on his face.
"You must have guessed whether there are less than a hundred people in the city." Cheng Jie shrank his neck and hurriedly said: "Sir, although the villain was later imprisoned, Zhanliu City is so big. You can tell at a glance that it is about the size of the city. , should be less than a hundred people, not more than eighty." In fact, this is not to blame Cheng Jie, Wu Gen and his two men entered the city late at night, so naturally they would not leave everyone outside, so he could not see everything.
"Come here, walk around the city and see how many guards are at the four city gates and how many people are on the walls." Cheng Liang gave the order, and more than 20 people rushed out and walked along the Zhanliu City. Walked around.
The city is not big. For these cavalry, they can circle around in less than three seconds. When these people came back and reported everything they saw along the way, even Cheng Liang was a little confused.
Except for the two people at the west gate, all the other four city gates were closed, and there was no one on the wall.
What kind of strategy is this, an empty city strategy? They still ambushed everyone in the city, and Cheng Liang was confused for a while.
"Sir, I have a plan I don't know whether to talk about or not." A weak voice rang out from the dull crowd.
Cheng Liang turned around and saw that it was Cheng Jie who spoke. Seeing that none of his subordinates were speaking, this merchant who usually made a living by selling wild goods showed up, and he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.
This Cheng Jie is actually a member of the Cheng family, but his kinship with the main family is very far away, and he is almost no different from an ordinary shepherd.
This person also found my family through many connections and wanted to find a job, but the family is so big that my family can't take care of you. How can I take care of you, a person who has done so much?
"Say, don't hide it." Cheng Liang's tone was not very kind. Cheng Jie glanced at the other party's face, lowered his body and said cautiously: "Sir, these thieves come from the mountains to the east and must return to the mountains, so there must be someone hiding at the east gate. And because we have to face them here at the west gate Our Cheng family has soldiers and horses, so the bandit leader is stationed here personally. There are not many bandits, so it is impossible to defend everything. This is why there is no one except the west gate. The weakest defense is the north and south gates, which are probably unmanned. Look. Your Excellency has excellent military strength. You can withstand the bandit leader here, and then divide your troops to attack other city gates, especially the north and south gates. Attack the city from all sides. If the thieves are in a dilemma, the city will inevitably be defeated. Once you enter the city, don't In charge of the west gate, everyone goes directly to the east gate, and at the same time encourages the merchants in the city to kill the enemy together. If these merchants have been robbed by thieves, they will definitely respond. In this way, the thieves will not be able to escape even if they have wings." After hearing this, Cheng After Jie's words, Hulan Fuyan was moved. Just when he was about to speak, Cheng Liang said sternly: "Don't talk nonsense. Although these thieves are few in number, they are all desperadoes. A comprehensive siege of the city will inevitably lead to their death." Counterattack will only hurt my son's life. As the old saying goes, if you surround yourself with three walls, you will leave no way out. The purpose of our trip is to capture the bandit leader, not to suppress the bandits. You must be clear about this. I have made up my mind and concentrate. Use troops to seize the west gate and take care of the north and south gates. If the bandit escapes, chase him if you can. If you can't catch him, chase him into the mountains." Cheng Jie offered his advice in good faith, but unexpectedly he got scolded by the other party and had to return to the team with a red face. .
In fact, Cheng Liang also understood what the other party was thinking. Cheng Jie wanted to get a position, and his strategies were remarkable.
But he didn't understand the truth inside, and his idea went in the wrong direction. Before leaving, the head of the family told Cheng Liang privately that the dispatch of troops this time was just to give Hulan Fu some face. He would not fight if he could. Even if he did, it would be enough to capture Wu Gen and destroy those bandits. It was not Cheng Liang who wanted to Things to do.
The core is one thing: don't hurt the lives of your own children too much. If there were too many casualties, don't think about what kind of compensation the Hulan family would give. He was just a son of a commoner, and the Hulan family had nothing to say.
If he had tried it with a legitimate son, the Hulan family would have sent people to kill him long ago. But it won't work if you don't send people. If you don't send people, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the Hulan family? If they find a pretext, they will kill you casually.
Fighting is not just about sword against sword, sword against sword, it is about interests. If you win something without interests, you will lose.
Seeing Cheng Liang acting like this, Hulan Fuyan couldn't say much. He knew that his status was awkward, and if he forced the other party to send troops, they would probably be unhappy with each other.
The reason why he kept an eye on Wu Gen this time was because he couldn't bear the thought of being caught. As long as Wu Gen was dealt with, he didn't care about the life or death of the Fearless Army.
"Come here, gather your troops and horses to attack the west city gate and capture the bandit leader before dark." Cheng Liang made up his mind. He looked at the sun gradually moving westward and asked a hundred households to lead more than 150 cavalry to prepare for the charge. .
Soon, the war horses rumbled forward, and more than a hundred cavalrymen put down their visors and came towards the west gate with their swords in hand.
These people all carry flying claws, hooks and the like, so they can climb up the wall if the city gate is blocked. Behind him, a hundred cavalry followed from both wings, throwing arrows at the city to cover it.
On the city tower, Wu Genzheng and Suoji were observing the enemy's situation. After one of their own arrows, the opponent hesitated and stopped, but they also guessed some of the opponent's thoughts.
I couldn't help but laugh in my heart. The Cheng family was obviously not grand. The Heita family sent a thousand people to intercept him. The Cheng family sent more than 300 people and were so cautious.
Wu Gen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the other party didn't divide their troops and went straight to the west gate, but only sent a small number of people to monitor the north and south gates from a distance.
He was afraid that the other party would be besieged on all sides and he would have no one. If that were the case, the war would only be chaotic. Not only could they not effectively annihilate the enemy, but it was also difficult for Ling Yun's eight cavalry and thirty soldiers to escape.
Taking out the Sky-shattering Bow, Wu Gen huddled behind the arrow stack and fired two arrows at the galloping cavalry. The white arrows cut off the lives of the cavalry like sickles, and more than twenty cavalry fell from their horses.
However, this time the remaining cavalry did not retreat, but accelerated forward, spreading out from each other into a wide arc.
As a result, Wu Gen's arrows could kill many fewer people at one time. Listening to the sound of arrows whizzing through the air above his head, Wu Gen smiled at Suoji and said, "If you leave now, you still have a chance to escape." Suoji clutched a whistle in his hand and said seriously: "Sir, little one. Look at Suoji, even though I am not very capable, I am not someone who is afraid of death."
"Okay, then we two will be arrogant today." Wu Gen laughed loudly and patted Suo Ji's shoulder hard, which made him shrink back and almost fall to the ground.
"Aren't you very capable? After some time when you settle down, I'll teach you some tricks."
"Young man, I will fight to the death to serve the leader of the village." Suo Ji looked excited and swore, patting his chest. Wu Gen looked a little strange. Lord Village Master, this statement is a bit new.
Soon, the cavalry were approaching the city gate. Looking at the ajar gate, the leading men hesitated slightly.
The ground the horse's hooves stepped on was a little soft, but it was impossible to stop at this time, and the people behind him were swarming forward.
After rushing to the bottom of the city tower, several cavalrymen stretched out their spears and tried to push open the heavy city gate. There was something piled up behind the city gate. Even the spears were broken, and the door opened a small gap.
At this time, the cavalry behind them had rushed over in a steady stream, and they were blocked at the city gate for a while. More than a dozen people dismounted and pushed open the city gate together.
When they opened the door and took a look, these people couldn't help but be startled. There were densely packed broken cars and broken tables in the doorway, with some grain and grass stuffed in the middle. They were almost piled up to the top of the doorway, and there were some sticky things on them. .
A strange smell filled the doorway, like the oil lamps lit by ordinary people. Sweat broke out on the forehead of the leading cavalryman, and he immediately understood what it was.
"Knock these debris away." Someone shouted with a knife in his hand. Many of these people have great cultivation skills. How can a few broken cars block the way?
The sword energy was slashed out one after another, and soon these obstacles were smashed and flew in all directions. The people in the gate are struggling to open a way out, and more people have piled up outside the city gate, all blocked here due to the obstruction in front.
Through the gaps between the debris, these people could see a person standing on the road directly opposite, holding a strange-shaped knife in his hand, and a row of crossbows in front of him.
Suddenly, the man made a beheading motion, and someone threw a torch from the side and threw it into the doorway.
With a bang, a blazing fire burst into the doorway. The flames ignited the debris and quickly spread outside the city gate, making a crackling sound.
Soon, even the ground was on fire. It turned out that under the thin soil on the ground, there was a thick layer of hay, all sprayed with tung oil.
The fire quickly filled the entire doorway.
