Wuping County.
It is currently the westernmost border county of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The city wall is tall and thick. The afternoon sun shines on the wall, and the golden light shines, rendering the entire city like a giant golden and iron beast crawling on the ground.
General's Mansion.
The back hall is where Song Huchen, the general of Zhenxi, rests and is also his private space.
Unlike other wealthy homes, this resting place is very simple. There are only two chairs placed on the left and right sides, and a bed placed against the wall.
The bed was simple, with a table on it and a chessboard on it.
The black and white pieces on the chessboard are in a state of anxiety, and the situation is "dark and unclear."
Two people sit on either side of the chessboard.
There was a person wearing a black robe, with an ordinary appearance and bright eyes. It was Song Huchen.
The other man was wearing a green robe, dressed as a scribe, with a peaceful face, a strand of white hair in his black hair, and a pair of eyes shining with wisdom.
He held a white stone in his hand, pondered for a moment, and placed the white stone on the lower left star.
Song Huchen couldn't help but be startled and said: "What kind of trick is this? Do you want to give up this corner?"
The green-robed scribe smiled and said: "The battlefield is like a chess game, and the chess game is like a battlefield. Many times, what you hear and see may not be true. Maybe someone just lets you see it on purpose."
Song Huchen smiled and said, "Then I'm really careful!"
Having said that, his method of making moves is still the same as before, with a wide range of moves.
The green-robed scribe smiled and said nothing, and slowly made his move. After a few steps, Song Huchen was forced to the point where large beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, and he could not make the move for a long time.
"I lost!"
Song Huchen was like a deflated rubber ball, and he dropped the black pieces in his hand.
"After so many years, General Zhenxi still has the same temper. No wonder he has not improved at all in the art of war." The green-robed scribe shook his head.
Song Huchen was outspoken and originally wanted to say "I can't change it", but the second half of the green-robed scribe's words made him swallow the words that were on his lips.
He frowned and said, "Is this game of chess related to this battle?"
"Three groups of troops raided the west, true and false, false and true, but one of them can make a contribution!" the green-robed scribe said meaningfully.
Song Huchen stroked the short beard on his chin and his eyes flashed.
This time, in order to avenge the Black Eagle Army's raid on Yinshan County, they planned to use three groups of troops to enter the Xia Kingdom border.
One way is the first battalion of Jianwei Zhonglang General Zhu Bangguo, the other is the command of his captain Chen Yang, and the other is the first battalion of Yangwei Zhonglang General Liu Xingze.
Among them, Jianwei Zhonglang led Zhu Bangguo from the north, Xiaowei Chen Yang came from the west, and Yangwei Zhonglang led Liu Xing from the south.
Each of the three groups led 3,000 cavalry. In fact, they just wanted to plunder and kill the Xia Kingdom's majesty. They did not expect to accomplish any great feats.
Because the time is not yet ripe, Zhou Dynasty is not ready to go to war with Xia Kingdom.
However, after being reminded by the Qingpao scribe, Song Huchen immediately changed his view.
He was a little surprised and said: "Could there be any surprises for the three of us?"
The green-robed scribe said, "I'm just guessing."
"Oh? Why do you think so?" Song Huchen was curious.
The green-robed scribe looked into the void and said: "There has not been a large-scale military conflict on the Zhou-Xia border for more than ten years. Although the Xia people are brave, so many years of comfortable life have almost wiped out their warlike heart. They I must have never expected that the Black Eagle Army's raid on Yinshan County would trigger such a large-scale retaliation from us."
"good!"
Song Huchen nodded and sneered: "The Xia people have always compared us Zhou people to rabbits, thinking that we are weak and can be bullied. They never expected that we would react so violently."
Suddenly, he changed the topic and said worriedly: "Although we have dispatched three groups of troops, they are only nine thousand cavalry. Their real combat power is not as good as Xia Kingdom's one thousand Black Eagle Army. These three groups of troops can really perform extraordinary feats." ?"
He looked at the green-robed scribe and still had great doubts about what he just said.
At this moment, a hurried voice came from outside the hall: "General, Mr. Chen is back!"
Hearing this, Song Huchen looked happy, glanced at the green-robed scribe, and then walked out of the lobby.
A soldier in armor was standing outside waiting. When Song Huchen appeared, he quickly said: "General, look at Mr. Chen, he is dying!"
The smile on Song Huchen's face suddenly froze, and he asked hurriedly: "What's going on?"
"I heard that Mr. Chen's men and horses encountered the Black Eagle Army. They suffered heavy casualties. Even Mr. Chen himself almost couldn't come back!" said the soldier.
Song Huchen said: "His troops did not leave Wuzhou, how could they encounter the Black Eagle Army?"
Wuzhou is the original Lingwu County, next to Wuping County. Because the Western Army's camp was stationed in Wuping County, Xia State also stationed tens of thousands of troops in Wuzhou.
With so many people from the Xia Kingdom stationed in Wuzhou, once a large army was dispatched from Wuping County, the Xia people would know it immediately, so Song Huchen just asked Chen Yang to lead 3,000 cavalry to leave Wuping County secretly.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the three thousand cavalry led by Chen Yang would not encounter the elite of Xia Kingdom, but the fact is exactly the opposite. Not only did they encounter it, they also encountered the elite of the elite - the Black Eagle Army.
"Let's go! Take me to see it!" Song Huchen couldn't wait to know the specific situation.
However, before taking a few steps, another soldier rushed into the courtyard.
Seeing this man in a panic, Song Huchen's heart sank, and his first reaction was that there was another bad news.
But then the soldier was heard shouting excitedly: "General, good news! Good news!"
As he spoke, he handed the document in his hand to Song Huchen.
Song Huchen took the document and quickly opened it to read. Soon, a smile appeared on his face, and he laughed: "Okay! Okay! Great!"
He said "good" three times in a row and walked around in circles with the document in hand.
Then, he quickly walked back to the hall, handed the document in his hand to the green-robed scribe, and said happily: "Look! It's really a miracle!"
The green-robed scribe smiled at first, took the document slowly, read it carefully and then closed it. He looked up at Song Huchen and said, "How much do you think his document is true?"
When Song Huchen heard this, his face darkened and he said, "What do you mean? Is the recovery of Ji County a lie? Does Zhu Bangguo dare to lie on this matter?"
The green-robed scribe shook his head and said: "Ji County has a special terrain, and it is too difficult for our army to capture it. Zhu Bangguo conquered Ji County with just a few words. It can't be that simple."
When Song Huchen heard this, he quickly understood, but then he thought of something again and said: "It is true that Zhu Bangguo doesn't have this ability, but that kid is not necessarily sure!"
"You mean...Wang Cheng? Is he really capable of this?" The green-robed scribe expressed doubt.
Although the document stated that Wang Cheng led a group of troops to capture Ji County, he felt that there must be an expert behind it, and this expert was definitely not Zhu Bangguo.
Song Huchen said: "Although that boy has just joined the army, he is a born general. At first, he killed more than 200 Black Eagle Army soldiers with his own strength. Later, he killed the captain of the Black Eagle Army. Most of the troops were killed because of him."
He squinted his eyes and smiled: "This kid did not rely on pure force. Without a keen sense of combat, he would not have been able to accomplish such miraculous feats. Entering Ji County from Liuyun County in Yinshan County, there seems to be no way out, but That kid got away without saying anything."
"It seems that you are very optimistic about this Wang Cheng?" the green-robed scribe asked.
Song Huchen did not deny it and said: "No doubt, it must have been that kid. But what I can't figure out now is how they defended Ji County? That Li Yuanqing led 30,000 troops and was stationed in Pingzhou."
"That's right! Li Yuanqing's 30,000 horses are not far from Ji County. If the cavalry rushes, they will arrive in half a day. How could he give Ji County to others?" said the green-robed scribe.
"We can't figure this out for a while. We have to ask Zhu Bangguo face to face to find out. However, if Ji County falls into our hands, this game of chess will really come to life!" Song Huchen said.
Ji County is a gateway to the northwest of the Xia Kingdom. If Ji County is captured, the Zhou army can break through Ji County and enter the hinterland of the Xia Kingdom.
The green-robed scribe looked at the chessboard and said, "This chessboard is indeed alive!"
He then added: "Since Ji County has fallen into our hands, the top priority is to send heavy troops to guard it."
"That's right! The Xia Kingdom will definitely not watch Ji County fall into our hands, and the heroic cavalry general will definitely lead a heavy army to rob it!" Song Huchen said.
The two of them didn't know that Li Yuanqing had already sent troops to Ji County, because Li Yuanqing and others had not arrived when this document was written. Zhu Bangguo wrote this document more because he wanted to send reinforcements to them.
Song Huchen immediately called in the two soldiers standing in the courtyard and asked them to call all the cadres under his command to the courtyard.
Except for Chen Yang, who was seriously injured, all the remaining nine captains came.
Song Huchen immediately arranged for five captains to command 15,000 troops and rushed to Ji County with the most important weapon in the army - the iron-armed crossbow.
"If these fifteen thousand men and horses are dispatched, they will definitely not be able to hide the tens of thousands of eyes on the opposite side. It's time for the remaining men and horses to make a move." The green-robed scribe said.
"Sign up in the east and attack in the west?" Song Huchen understood.
Then, he issued a series of military orders to the remaining four captains.
In this way, he put his heart in his stomach.
However, once such a big commotion occurs, the entire west side will be in chaos.
The border between Zhou and Xia, which had been peaceful for more than ten years, was immediately shrouded in smoke of war.
Song Huchen looked worried. He originally just wanted to take revenge on Xia Kingdom, but he didn't expect that he would break the truth.
He worriedly said: "The Xia Kingdom will definitely put pressure on our court. Your Majesty..."
At this point, he shook his head.
As a general who guards the border, he is very aware of the difficulty of retaking Ji County, the importance of Ji County, and the rarity of this opportunity. However, the ministers in the court may not be aware of this, and may even give him He labeled himself as "provoking a war between the two countries."
"Don't worry! If others don't understand, your Majesty will definitely understand!"
…
