When it was dark, the ground was still frozen and stiff.
The morning fog was inexplicably heavy.
However, the officers and soldiers on Tushan Mountain, who had received a special reminder from the camp at night, immediately realized something was wrong, because they found that the morning fog was more obvious in the direction of the Deposed Dragon Thieves camp in front of them, but lighter behind them. Then the garrison general Guo Shiping immediately made a decision Judgment - The deposed dragon thief is cooking breakfast in a way that is far beyond the usual scale. The mist surrounding Qipan Camp and the nearby Ban County is actually the smoke and water vapor from cooking.
The message was quickly sent back to the Ma Mian River camp behind them, and the atmosphere inside the camp became completely tense.
It's very simple. After guessing yesterday that the supervisor Sima Chen Bin had surrendered to the enemy, everyone guessed that since this person knew the secrets of the entire army, he would definitely reveal everything so that the thieves could find opportunities to fight. Faced with this possibility, Xue Changxiong also took advantage of the opportunity to inform everyone about the fact that the troops were not moving, and had sent envoys to find Gao Zhan and Xue Wanbi last night.
At that time, everyone also speculated that the deposed dragon thief would probably take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to search for the enemy troops and look for opportunities to fight.
Including the advance reminder on Tushan, it is also a normal military precaution based on this.
However, at this moment, when the signal representing the war really came back, the Mamianhe Camp was still plunged into a certain kind of indignation, confusion, fear, and panic.
"This thief really told the story about the partial division! This is selling the entire Hejian camp!" Xue Changxiong was so angry that he couldn't help but shouted loudly in the Chinese army's tent. "How dare he?!"
No one responded to him.
After a while, under the urging of Murong Zhengyan, the confidential officers in the big tent got busy quickly, because it had already been discussed before. If the Dragon Thieves were to send troops to leave, the Ma Mian River Camp here would also quickly send troops. , and they are going out in full force, preparing to attack the chessboard camp in order to involve them.
And such a large-scale dispatch of troops, from the deployment of military supplies to the most basic breakfast, including the beating of drums to gather generals, one after another, is either a trouble or a trouble... How can it stop just because of the emotional roar of the coach? Woolen cloth?
On the other hand, several lieutenant generals were hiding by the open door of the tent. Hearing these words, they couldn't help chatting with each other due to the chaos in the camp and the sound of drums in their ears.
"I've been thinking about it all night and still can't figure it out. Why would Chen Sima...Chen Bin...Chen thief rebel?" Zhonglang spread Wang Yu's hands, but he changed his names three times in a row before he could finish the sentence, and his face turned pale. Bai, it seemed like he really didn’t understand. "In terms of position, he is the Sima who supervises the army, and even supervises the general for the imperial court; in terms of power and responsibility, he is one person below ten thousand in the army; in terms of confidants... the general regards him as his confidant."
"My confidant can't compare to my son." Another lieutenant general, Dou Pi, said with a dark face. "Now that I think about it, Xue Laosi was too disrespectful to Chen Sima, as if Chen Sima was his slave! Now that Bai Sanniang defeated the Youzhou Army in one night, it is normal for him to be afraid of fleeing. "
Dou Pi came from the Guanlong clan, but he was not a direct descendant. In addition, he came with Xue Changxiong after the defeat of the Three Expeditions. He always had a high self-esteem. Now he became angry and had no scruples about anything he said.
"Actually, Chen Sima also wants to humiliate himself." Wang Changxie rubbed his hands and sighed. "He didn't love himself and was used to flattery. As a result, he was regarded as a domestic slave. Xue Wanbi repeatedly scolded him in public and refused to say anything. In front of the general, he just flattered blindly and had no duty to supervise the army. Only then was he deceived a little bit. It’s gone up there.”
Next to him, Zhang Shirang was more or less older, but something didn't sound right. In addition, he saw that Wang Yu's face was getting uglier and uglier, so he quickly interrupted: "It's because he doesn't have basic loyalty to his family, and he doesn't do a good job as an official. To be a thief is the biggest reason for this!"
Everyone nodded and said that General Zhang was right.
Immediately, everyone started talking again, but they talked about Wang Fubei. At this time, they all understood... General Zhonglang, who was born in a powerful local in Hebei, only knows how to fight and not flatter. In addition, he was guilty of the Leling battle. The consumption of war will be reversed if it is reversed.
As he spoke, the water vapor above the Ma Mian River camp became more and more obvious. At this time, near the Chinese army tent that had not yet been completely opened, the long gathering drum was finally beaten.
Everyone rushed into the tent with their own thoughts.
After entering, Xue Wanquan, the youngest among the Xue family members, had a dark circle under his eyes and started to recite documents and take roll call, and then the first one got stuck - in theory, he has a higher position than Chen Bin, and he is the only one in the camp at the moment. Qian Tang, the official governor of the county, did not appear.
In the silence, an ominous premonition swept over everyone.
Xue Wanquan turned to look at his own father, only to see Xue Changxiong lying on the main seat covered with a tiger skin in the middle, holding his forehead with one hand, holding down the straight knife with the other, and stretching out one foot, pedaling the tiger's skin. He just didn't say a word, and he didn't know whether he was angry or calm.
"Go and inspect Mr. Qian's tent." Murong Zhengyan was the one who spoke.
The guards left in a hurry, but how could they come back soon? The camp fell into a tense atmosphere again.
"Continue..." Xue Changxiong's movements remained unchanged, except that he moved a finger on his forehead, and finally spoke.
The roll call continued, and this time there were no fewer people, which was somewhat of a relief.
"Father, the remaining ten lieutenants and generals are all here, as well as two internal historians, four..." Xue Wanquan reported immediately.
"Okay." Xue Changxiong waved his hand on the tiger skin. "I have a clue in my heart... The Youzhou Army has collapsed. General Han can't catch up in Leling. Wang Fubei should have surrendered. There are 18,000 of our elite in the partial division. Plus the previous casualties... there are probably some left. Twenty-two to three thousand soldiers, two Chengdan, six Ningdan, and ten generals, right?"
"Yes." Xue Wanquan also put down the roster in his hand.
"General Murong." Xue Changxiong still lay still and looked at Murong Zhengyan again. "Tell me, if the thieves are bolder, how many soldiers will they send to eat our partial troops?"
"If I were to lead the troops, I would send double the troops upward." Murong Zhengyan thought for a moment and immediately gave the answer. "To quickly defeat the enemy head-on and expand the victory."
"Thirty-six thousand upwards." Xue Changxiong sighed. "The key is that things were done in a hurry, and we don't know how many Dengzhou troops have come... But I estimate that there will be at least 20,000 people left behind in person, right?"
"Twenty thousand is a little more than twenty thousand?" Dou Pi's face looked a little ugly. "I couldn't win before, can I win now?"
"It's different." Xue Changxiong replied without hesitation. "Before, they were able to gather all the practitioners in the army and form a large formation to fight us. Now if they want to quickly defeat the partial troops, they will definitely take away most of the masters... So it doesn't matter, because I will take action myself."
Everyone's expressions softened slightly.
But another Zhonglang general, Wang Changxie, hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to say: "General, the general's brother is in the side army, so the general will not hide his secrets in this battle, and will also support the attack on the enemy camp. ...However, the general still has to ask, what if the thieves are determined to eat the partial army and then turn back? What if the thieves have the determination to fight and retreat, or even abandon the entire camp and withdraw into the Banxian city? manage?"
Xue Changxiong was silent for a moment and answered seriously: "Then let's each do our own thing. Anyway, we have to fight to the end today! If he doesn't return his troops, I will continue to break through Banxian County and leave them completely without a foothold!"
Wang Changxie nodded: "That's all we can do."
Xue Changxiong also nodded, and then asked, still on the tiger's skin: "Everyone, we actually discussed some things very clearly last night. It's just that I was so angry about Thief Chen yesterday that I couldn't feel at ease for a long time. I never made a summary and issued a military order. , now I can explain it clearly... In the current situation, Chen Bin must have sold the partial division, so the thief will most likely attack the partial division, and when we wait for the thief to move, we will also move and attack the entire army. Does anyone have anything to say about this military strategy of storming the enemy stronghold?"
No one is saying anything on this issue.
"Okay." Xue Changxiong finally sat upright and continued to speak. "If this is the case, let me add that this battle is already a decisive battle. I will be the vanguard as a master. All you need to do is follow me. And if I break a stronghold, none of the generals behind me can. If you follow me into a stronghold, you will be regarded as hiding your power, so don’t blame me for not showing mercy! It’s just that the military formation was not easy to handle for a while, and even the news was lost after the war, but once it is allowed If I find it, I can always figure out a result! I don’t believe that everyone is Chen Bin, and they are all from the Nanchen royal family, and they can be killed without stopping!"
The hall was quiet for a moment.
In the end, it was Murong Zhengyan who tried to surrender and restore the atmosphere.
However, at this moment, the guards who had left in a hurry came back with a piece of news - Qian Tang, the governor of Pingyuan County, and his newly appointed deputy captain Lu Changheng might have disappeared since last night, because they had disappeared early in the morning. No one saw them.
"In vain, I thought he was a pure person." Xue Changxiong nodded, without comment. He just urged the whole army to have a meal and all departments to prepare early, but he continued to lie down on the tiger skin without saying a word.
The remaining two sons take care of him.
On the other side, in the chessboard camp of the Deposed Dragon Army opposite, Zhang Xingzheng was holding a bowl and talking to the clear man: "After we divided our troops last night, I almost thought you wouldn't come, but you still arrived."
"What's the point of arriving? You're just pretending to sleep there and can't get up." Qian Tang was also eating, and even shared a plate of pickles, but Qian Tang was also a bachelor. "What if you don't come? The Hejian camp will be defeated today. If you don't come, your life will be at risk."
"Did you hear that Sanniang just came here?" Zhang Xing took a sip of porridge and asked a random question.
"There must be some." Qian Tang was still magnanimous. "If Bai Sanniang doesn't come, in my opinion, you will still choose to attack the camp face to face, but you may not be able to defeat a grandmaster. I don't think you can still survive."
"But you have been struggling like this all winter, from being a governor who controls most of the county to having no soldiers, no soldiers, and not even half of the city. The big boss may not be able to give it to you." Zhang Xingyi said. .
"The contribution to Chen Sima is indeed small." Qian Tang picked up the plate of pickles, poured it into his own bowl, mixed it, drank it in one gulp, and then put down the bowl and said. "But Lu Changheng has sent you so much crucial information, so you should have an explanation with him."
"He had an explanation before he left." Zhang Xing was noncommittal.
"So, Qian Fujun is not Zhang Longtou's spy, but the deputy captain Lu next to Qian Fujun?" Chen Bin, who was listening intently, couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted to ask.
"I have no less than four or five strong eyes in the opposite camp." Zhang Xing turned around and smiled, but did not directly answer the other party's question.
It’s not easy for Chen Bin to ask questions.
After a while, after everyone had finished eating, they gathered the generals, dressed up neatly, and prepared to send out troops. According to Zhang Xing's decision, since he didn't care about anything and ignored everything, he had to send out all the troops.
Among them, Bai Yousi, Wang Zhen, Meng Zhigui, Chang Hui, including Wang Fubei and his subordinates were all coming from Pingchang, so they were not mentioned on the way.
According to the plan, the remaining Wei Xuanding (Guo Jingke), Gao Shitong, Zhai Qian, Zhang Shanxiang, Xu Kaitong, Cheng Mingqi, Tang Bairen, Fan Bao, Xiahou Ningyuan, Dou Lide, Hao Yide, Zhuge Dewei, Fan Wang, and Lu Hongyue led the fourteenth battalion. Soldiers, plus Ma Ping'er, who had just arrived, temporarily took over Sun Xuanzhi's old troops, totaling fifteen battalions.
Rankings of three and five, as the main force, were already in place at the second half of the chessboard camp.
Immediately, the three leaders Wang Shuyong, Shan Tonghai, and Cheng Zhili lined up at intervals in the third row of camps in front.
Jia Yue, Zhou Xingfan, Shang Huai'en, plus the Huaixi soldiers led by Fu Boshi, totaling four battalions, can be regarded as Zhang Xingping's direct subordinates. At this time, they moved forward two by two, and only formed formations in the first and second rows of camps. .
As for Wang Xiongdan and Jia Runshi, they only took the battalion led by Zhang Xing to prepare around the general platform.
In addition, Liu Zhouchen led his own battalion and Xiong Bonan's battalion was spreading out at the end of the camp, preparing to accompany them as supervisors.
The twenty-fifth battalion of soldiers and horses must indeed be used.
But the strange thing is that none of the battalions have raised their flags yet.
And Yan Qing and Zheng Ting, according to military orders, actually had to lead auxiliary troops and field troops to follow as a backup in case of emergency. Of course, what Zhang Xing didn't know was that Dou Lide's wife, Mrs. Cao, and his daughter, Dou Xiaoniang, had also put on their clothes and prepared to accompany them... They probably paid more attention to this battle than anyone else.
As for Zhang Dalongtou himself, he had already moved to the general platform at this time, and had already gathered his personal guards and some of the elite practitioners who were transferred, including Xiong Bonan, Xu Shiren, Wu Jingfeng, Xie Minghe, including the newly surrendered Qian Tang and Chen Bin , all in it.
Of course, the mountain on the opposite side could see this scene clearly and kept reporting back to him early on.
In fact, preparations are also in full swing at the official and military camps.
At this moment, Bai Yousi led 5,000 Dengzhou troops and 2,000 Wang Fubei tribe troops to approach from the east.
The officers and soldiers roughly found out the strength of the troops, and they sent it back immediately... To be honest, the strength of the officers and soldiers made the army camp feel a little relieved, but it was hard to understand the collapse of the Youzhou Army.
"No matter what." Murong Zhengyan cheered up and tried to take responsibility. "The situation is almost as expected... The bandit army has left seven battalions in front, plus 5,000 Dengzhou reinforcements, which is almost exactly 20,000. One or two battalions are left in the city. In this case, each battalion has Attrition, the troops they sent to attack the partial division were similar to what we thought... The only surprise was Wang Fubei. I didn't expect that Wang Fubei was in Pingchang, and they actually dared to use Wang Fubei, a man who had just surrendered, to fight. .”
"This is a good thing." Xue Changxiong was somewhat relieved. "Finally there are no other surprises. As for Wang Fubei, wouldn't it be better if he can handle it on the battlefield?"
Murong Zhengyan also nodded: "So, are we also preparing to send troops?"
"Okay!" Xue Changxiong responded immediately.
"Tell Chief Bai." Almost at the same time, Zhang Xing suddenly turned around and ordered. "Tell her not to come. Just take Wang Zhen and Wang Fubei from the flanks to the Maface River Camp. Save some time and just meet at the front."
The messenger immediately jumped out of the horse and flew towards the east.
"Instruct all ministries to raise the flag immediately." Zhang Xing turned around and ordered. "Wait for my handsome flag to pass by first, and then proceed forward in the order arranged."
The surrounding generals roared.
A moment later, Guo Shiping, the general of the Hejian Camp on duty on Tushan Mountain, saw a rare scene in his life - including the flag with the word "deposed" on a red background, dozens of camp flags and general flags followed by a drum Ring, actually stood up together.
Then, something even more frightening happened to him. After the flag was lit up, the "deposed" flag representing the position of the opponent's coach did not go behind him as expected. Instead, there was no gap at all, and it went directly along. Following the "space" of the chessboard camp, he came towards himself.
Guo Shiping was stunned for more than ten breaths, until the guards beside him grabbed him and pointed to the east. Looking far into the distance, he could clearly see the five thousand Dengzhou reinforcements and Wang Wang who were heading towards the camp. Fubei's two thousand soldiers actually turned to the north.
After General Guo came to his senses, he felt that the blood all over his body was about to solidify.
He hurriedly ordered the messenger to deliver the message, but he could only be at a loss on the mountain. He thought he was a surveillance outpost, but he didn't expect to be the first to bear the brunt.
Twenty-five battalions of the bandit army plus 7,000 reinforcements were sent out to press forward. What should I do with the 2,000 soldiers on these hills?
In panic, the deposed flag had appeared in the first row of camps, and then he saw with his naked eyes that the thief Zhang Xing had released the ice Qi released in the previous three Qi battles.
Starting from this position?
Or do you want to give yourself face like this?
Guo Shiping was even more frightened, feeling that the cold air had already wrapped around his neck from such a distance!
On Tushan Mountain, soldiers have begun to flee.
After a while, under the banner of "Deposed", the momentum of the ice true energy formation shown in the previous battle formation was not weak at all. He was leading a battalion of obviously capable thieves behind him and slowly approached. At the same time, the camps on both sides Here, Jia Ziqi and Zhou Ziqi moved together, heading straight towards the mountains ahead... After fighting for many days, Guo Shiping knew very well that they were the two battalions led by the thieves Jia Yue and Zhou Xingfan.
These are all troops directly under the thief Zhang San.
As the rebels at the front of the two battalions moved forward, the flags of Fu and Shang in the second row behind them; Wang, Dan, and Cheng in the third row; and the fifteen battalions in the second half gradually waved their flags and moved forward one after another. Come on.
The marching drums had already been suppressed by the overwhelming shouts, and in the almost noisy sound, Guo Shiping also witnessed for the third time this morning a scene that shocked him from the bottom of his heart - armor shining in the early spring morning sun. There was a glow, the weapons were layered like a forest, the war horses marched neatly along the ridges between the camps, and the entire chessboard camp of the rebel army rolled up like the waves of the Bohai Sea.
And you are the first target.
At this thought, Guo Shiping did not hesitate, got on his horse and fled directly.
The Tushan defense line that was too far forward quickly collapsed under the absolutely superior strength and obvious decisive battle situation, and was then lost.
Zhang Xingbing fought without hesitation and rode a yellow gelding horse through the gaps in the mountains. He saw the Hebei Plain that had been obscured by the mountains for several days.
"He came for me?"
At this time, Xue Changxiong, who had just finished dressing up, had yet to mount his horse, and once again asked the messenger almost instinctively.
But no one answered him, because everyone else was dumbfounded, and there was no need to answer him. The area in front of the Ma Mian River camp and up to the Tushan Mountain was empty and clean. It was a good battlefield for a decisive battle. The sun was shining high in the morning and the fog was mist. After they dispersed, some strange movements could be seen in the distance.
At the other end, Zhang Xing crossed the earth mountain, lowered his head, and was in a daze for a while - he was attracted by a strange green color. Behind the compacted earth mountain, on the side of the gentle slope, there was a piece of soil with an obviously abnormal color. Among them, there are several millet seedlings growing vigorously mixed with weeds in an attempt to welcome the spring.
After watching for a while, Zhang Xing turned around and calmly ordered: "Burn the houses on the mountain and let the ministries march through the gap between the mountains."
After saying that, without taking any breath, he rode forward. The army behind them was like a tiger emerging from a coffin, pouring out from the gaps in the earth and mountains in a mighty manner, rushing straight towards the official camp to the north.
Behind them, the remaining four large and one small earthen hills suddenly burned with blazing torches, and the twenty-five battalion soldiers arrived at the battlefield as if they had passed through a huge fire gate.
Ps: Thank you to the new leader Mr. Andy, I am very grateful.
(End of chapter)
