As the sun set, Zhang Xing returned to the military camp behind him.
The twilight could not cover the eyes of the master of condensation. Zhang Xing rode his horse and walked slowly inside. His eyes scanned the various things in the camp along the way, including the pentagonal outer fortress, the main inner military camp arranged like plum petals, and then ditches and fences. , earthen forts, with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, plus complicated sentries, and endless patrol teams... If these can be regarded as regular settings in military camps, there are some places, that is, inside the outer fortress and outside the inner camp, where It seems strange that many separate barracks and watchtowers are set up in specific locations, and although they are hasty, they tend to be semi-permanent.
However, for the senior leaders of both parties, the thing behind this matter is by no means a secret. The Deposed Dragon Gang chose to stay here because they were preparing to use the method they had previously developed in Jiang Ling's experiment to create a death formation, and Bai Hengqiu, who was on the opposite side, It is a serious inheritance of the Bai family, and naturally it is true at a glance.
Moreover, these extra camp locations are still not the weirdest place here. In fact, the biggest problem with the camp is that it is too orderly and serious.
"Are there any people fleeing this afternoon?" Returning to the Chinese army's tent, Zhang Xing put away his composure in front of Li Ding and asked.
"No more." Ma Wei, who was busy with something, quickly got up from the many staff documents. "After the Shiwu Lian Sitting Interlocking Regulations were changed at noon today, there will be no more escapes."
"I didn't expect that one day I would have to run the army this way." Zhang Xing did not sit down, and he rarely looked worried.
It turned out that with the departure of the large regiment of the Deposed Dragon Army and the appearance of a total of more than 70,000 Taiyuan-Wu'an-Dongdu coalition troops in the reconnaissance field of this place yesterday, the army was shaken by it, and Rumors could no longer be suppressed amid the shock, and soon relevant information was leaked, and rumors arose, so that many sergeants and army personnel were further shaken and fled.
"Actually, it's human nature. It's good to be able to escape with so little." Xiong Bonan raised his voice to comfort him. "How about compared to the deserters during the Three Expeditions?"
Hearing the latter sentence, even though the room in the tent was extremely serious, they couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Throughout the ages, who can compare with deserters in the Three Expeditions?" When the laughter stopped, Zhang Xing also smiled bitterly. "And I'm not worried about this desertion, but I'm worried that the morale of the troops will be tight and it won't last long."
"Instead of worrying about this, it's better to worry about the people outside." Xu Shiying suddenly came in from the outside and stopped behind Zhang Xing, with a stern face and a heavy tone. "We are a carefully selected team here. We have a tight camp. We have Chief Zhang and King Xiong. We are sure to be able to survive the pressure. We can only escape with a few scattered ones. But they all want to run back instead of surrendering. , but people outside can’t tell... When Cui falls tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, if we raise the flag, I don’t know how many people will surrender.”
Not only that, Xu Shiying still didn't say half a sentence, because it made no sense - he felt that even if he wanted to resist in this way, he should retreat behind Qinghe and Wucheng, which Cui could easily control. It's good to have a high chicken mooring at your back.
But even so, Zhang Xing could only remain silent, and Xiong Bonan even hesitated to speak.
However, Ma Wei suddenly laughed: "If you ask me, the chief and Chief Xu are worrying too much."
"What should I say?" Xiong Bonan was refreshed.
"The key is the battle tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." Ma Wei said with a smile. "If that battle can be defended, our military morale will be greatly boosted when we fight on the mainland, so how can we continue to be tense? As for those people outside, even if they are as inappropriate as the Cui family, they will be disappointed after seeing that we can defend it. I will persevere instead.”
Xiong Bonan raised his eyebrows slightly: "That's good, but a few of us said we were worried about other people, but we were the first to become suspicious."
"What if we lose tomorrow?" Xu Shiying couldn't hold back and sneered while hugging her arms.
"Then run away, run to the rear." Zhang Xing blurted out after recovering. "I called you here to talk about business! In the current situation, do we still need a night attack?"
"What do you mean, chief?" Ma Wei asked seriously. "When you meet with Li Ding, can you find out some of the facts on the other side?"
"Forty to fifty thousand troops are densely packed with experts. Wherever there is weakness, there is strength everywhere." Zhang Xing said with a bitter smile.
"Then cancel the plan and don't conduct a night attack?" Xiong Bonan followed the trend and asked.
"We still need to attack at night, but don't attack the enemy in front of us." Zhang Xing said firmly. "Tonight we are going to attack the Dongdu Army on the other side of the river... They have very few soldiers and horses. They are obviously a vanguard force. Their camp is far inferior to that of the other side. They can be easily dispersed!"
"I object." Xu Shiying reminded seriously. "What if in the middle of the night attack, the Taiyuan soldiers and horses notice that we have sent our elite troops to the other side, and raise troops to attack this place? Especially when there is a British Duke on the opposite side, and you all say he is a great master! Will he hit the target with one blow and collapse overnight? Not to mention, if the pontoon bridge is broken, will the ships hidden in the camp be exposed now?"
"It doesn't matter." Zhang Xing had obviously thought about it for a long time. "There are too few soldiers and horses on the other side of the river, so I only asked King Xiongtian to lead a dozen military masters there... In this way, if the Taiyuan army moves, they can easily come back. I can hold the Fulong Seal and sit here."
Xu Shiying stopped saying anything, and only looked at Xiong Bonan with Ma Wei and others. King Xiong Tian thought for a moment and nodded immediately: "It's feasible! No matter what, we should try to weaken the enemy's spirit, so that the army can surrender." Take a breather."
Zhang Xing nodded immediately, and the matter was settled.
On the other side, in front of the hastily set up tent, the British Duke Bai Hengqiu was listening to a report by the brazier... After the military commanders had dinner together, Li Ding reported all the conversations he had with Zhang Xing, and Nothing to hide or conceal.
"Okay." The British male, who finally took off his armor, couldn't help laughing after hearing this. "Knowing that he deserves to die, he is not a hero in vain. As for wanting to win this time, it is ridiculous... In this battle, he tried his best and used all kinds of tricks. The best result was just to resist for several months. After a few months, You just escaped from the Kansai War after we got married and forced me to withdraw my troops."
Li Ding thought for a while: "It is true that this is the best result for deposing the Dragon Army...but from an overall perspective, this can be regarded as a victory for the Deposed Dragon Army."
The British Duke was slightly awe-inspiring: "Then don't worry about him. Let's see the outcome of the battle tomorrow."
Li Ding nodded.
Bai Hengqiu hesitated for a moment, and then asked again: "Let's not talk about military affairs for now, but I have something to ask Mr. Li Fu."
"Mr. Bai, please speak."
"In this march, the coalition forces in Taiyuan, Dongdu, Wu'an, and Hejian were more than 100,000, and the momentum was huge. There were 78,000 on this road alone. It is ridiculous to say that it shocked the world, but it was enough to scare the whole of Hebei. And if It is said that we were all outside the territory of the Deposed Dragon Thieves before, or that Wuyang County was just the first captured by the Deposed Dragon Thieves, and Yuanbaocun was separated by itself. But now we have arrived in Qinghe, and I have raised my flag. Why don't I see any of the Deposed Dragon Thieves voluntarily asking for surrender? What?" Bai Hengqiu asked seriously.
Li Ding hesitated to speak.
"Did they all escape?" Bai Hengqiu's nephew, Bai Li, the general in charge of setting up the camp, blurted out as he was late. He had just finished eating and was about to drink a glass of wine.
"Is that possible?" Dou Qi frowned. "The chief and elite members of his gang are all right in front of us. The sentries and civilian husbands have also met before. The local officials and rangers must be nearby."
"That's what I mean." Bai Hengqiu raised his hand and nodded.
"So you are planning to escape, right?" Another general, Sun Shunde, frowned slightly. Unlike the others, this one was both an in-law of the Bai family and Bai Hengqiu's companion when they were young, so he spoke casually. "I'm going to run away soon, so I won't surrender."
"It's still wrong." Dou Qi argued seriously. "Not everyone will run away. There are always people who are native to the country. Such people are more tempted to surrender when others are running away. Not to mention, there is a shortage of everything these days, but there is no shortage of opportunistic people... So , no one has come to surrender at this time, it can only be said that the deposed dragon thief has always been popular, and the system is strict, no one dares to rebel easily in a short period of time."
Bai Hengqiu nodded slightly.
"Not necessarily." Li Ding thought for a while and replied seriously. "There is also the reason why the troops from the Deposed Dragon Gang are staying in various cities... Although the movement of the troops from the Deposed Dragon Gang is roughly clear, there are more than 100,000 troops in the field here alone, which is enough to separate the places and allow soldiers and horses to be stationed in each city. , suppressing the city. In addition, most of the cities are on the other side of the river. Even if you want to surrender, I'm afraid it won't be shaken until all the Dongdu army arrives tomorrow."
Only then did Bai Hengqiu feel a little enlightened, and sighed again: "No matter what, the Deposed Dragon Gang has a strict system and a well-organized military affairs. Zhang San also knows that the stakes of this battle are to shake the hearts of friendly troops. After all, he has some ability. This battle, I think we need to take it seriously and strictly... There will be no battle tomorrow, but a day's rest, waiting for the troops from Dongdu to arrive, and then the whole army will fight at sunrise the next day."
The generals stood up solemnly and saluted one after another, including Li Ding.
However, when everyone sat down, Li Silang suddenly asked: "Even if no one comes to vote, doesn't the British Duke have old friends and hidden connections? For example, here in Qinghe County, it's just the Fang family, three or four of them are members of the Deposed Dragon Gang What about the leader of the Qinghe Cui family? What about Cui Gong who has been Ningdan since the Wei Dynasty merged with Qi?"
Bai Hengqiu looked at the other party and suddenly smiled: "How did Li Silang guess it?"
This is admission.
"Just a wild guess." Li Ding also smiled. "This Duke Cui was under the rule of the Deposed Dragon Gang, but he never showed up. He just let his disciples deal with it. I think there is a gap between him and the Deposed Dragon Gang, and Cui Gong must have an old relationship with the British Duke, so he naturally had this idea."
Not only Bai Hengqiu, but also many people around him were surprised.
"But." Li Ding continued to smile. "The idea that aroused me was that the British Duke sent troops the next day...I wonder if this is a strategy to lure and frighten the enemy. Will the deposed dragon army be afraid of retreating? Once they retreat, Behind him, Wucheng and Qinghe may be captured by Cui Gong, and then protected by the body of the Grandmaster. Then, even if the deposed dragon army desperately seizes the city, it will inevitably lose ground and be full of loopholes. It is best to be broken by our pursuing troops!"
Bai Hengqiu nodded, then shook his head sincerely: "I really didn't think so much, I just wanted to be better prepared."
Li Ding nodded and said no more words.
In this way, the generals discussed again, but after Li Ding remained silent, basically the confidants Bai Hengqiu brought from Taiyuan chatted and discussed casually. After waiting for half an hour, Li Silang handed over He said goodbye and chose to return to camp.
Unexpectedly, since Li Ding surrendered, all the Wu'an generals, including Su Mu and Wang Chenxun, followed him one after another, and they all surrendered and left, which made all the Taiyuan generals look down upon him, but the British Duke himself remained magnanimous.
After Li Silang returned, he was greeted by Zhang Shiniang in the camp. He wanted to ask about the situation, but unexpectedly, the other party just waved his hand and then sat quietly in the tent... Sure enough, after a while, a guard came to report that it was Wang Chen who was surprised to see him. .
Li Ding immediately asked someone to introduce him.
Wang Chen was stunned when he entered, but he only glanced at Li Ding and Zhang Shiniang, and then fell to his knees with a "plop"... Zhang Shiniang had a high level of cultivation, so he naturally knew that the other party had no luck at all, so he pounced directly on them. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
"Why did Captain Wang do this?" Li Ding's expression did not change. He knew from the moment he saw Wang Chen stood up and followed him in astonishment that he even surprised Su Mu and others. What he did today was too obvious, but this was his original intention. .
"I am ashamed, I dare not not come..." Wang Chen raised his head in astonishment and spoke hastily. "I would like to ask you, Mr. Fu. He only asked me to follow Zhang San and told the British public everything. Didn't he think that his subordinates were communicating with the British public, so he asked me to verify it?"
"Do you dare to say that you have no communication with the British public?" Li Ding smiled.
"Of course there is, but that was before." Wang Chen answered with astonishment. "Fu Jun... my family has wanted to join the Taiyuan Wang family for several generations, so we already had relations with Taiyuan before the British Duke took office, including my brother Wang Chenkuo. It was indeed me who persuaded him to join the British Duke. But that was before Mr. Fu took office... Mr. Fu, my subordinates are sincere to Mr. Fu, and there is nothing wrong with them!"
Li Ding calmed down slightly: "Did I blame you wrongly?"
"My subordinates are aware of Fujun's difficulties, and also know that his background and behavior are suspicious, so I have never resented injustice, otherwise I would not have come to find Fujun." Wang Chen kowtowed in astonishment. . "As long as the prince knows that his subordinates are sincere and doesn't delay the prince's important affairs, that's all."
"What important event can you delay?" Li Ding laughed again after hearing this. "Let me tell you, if you are really sincere, go to the British father-in-law and tell him honestly that I am indeed not hiding anything."
Wang Chen was stunned and felt a chill in his heart, and quickly raised his head: "Master Fu, you still don't believe in my sincerity?"
"I believe in your sincerity." Li Ding still smiled.
Wang Chen was stunned and suddenly realized: "The Lord wants me to be a spy?!"
Li Ding laughed when he heard this, but finally stood up with his hands behind his back and walked towards the other party: "Wang Duwei, I believe in your sincerity, but do you know that your sincerity is of no use between me and the British Duke?" None?"
Wang Chen was stunned again, but did not wake up immediately.
However, Li Ding didn't let him wait long and continued directly:
"Captain Wang, your biggest problem is your vision, so much so that you always think that there is a clear barrier between me, Mr. Bai and Zhang Sanlang... Let alone Zhang San and Mr. Bai, the relationship between me and these two people is not simple. We are our enemies! I am too lazy to talk about the specifics. I will only talk about our current affairs. Are you worried that I will mistakenly think you are a spy for Mr. Bai? "
"Yes." Wang Chen was stunned and confused, but he blurted out.
"But what does it have to do with it?" Li Ding sneered. "If Mr. Bai wins this battle, will Hebei still rely on me to check and balance Xue Changxiong and Luo Shu, and suppress the remnants of the Deposed Dragon Gang? If so, do I need someone who can gain Mr. Bai's trust to replace me in Bai Gong? To make contact in front of the Duke? Just follow this to the end, assuming that the Bai family is really the successor of the Wei Dynasty, if you want to be an official in the new dynasty, can you get rid of my involvement and reputation? And if Bai Gong fails, then you and him relationship becomes even more insignificant.”
At this point, Li Ding, who was standing in front of the other party, finally sounded solemn: "Captain Wang!"
"My subordinate is here!" Wang Chen bowed his head again in shock to avoid the other party's sight.
"I clearly tell you that I, Li Si, have been the master of two counties for three or four years. I have 20,000 Wu'an Hongshan soldiers. Although I am not as good as Bai Zhang and others, I am compared with these people. To you You know, I am a very big person, and I hold your person in my hands..." Li Ding looked at the people in front of him, and his tone became more severe. "You, General Su and his son, and Captain Gao, all have their backgrounds and talents, but in the past three years, Gao Shisheng has only followed me for half a year. For the rest of his life, You can’t escape my name as Li Ding! No matter how the world changes, as long as I don’t end up dying without a burial, you will be my soldiers! You can’t even run away!”
After Li Ding finished speaking, he turned around, but Wang Chen lowered his head in astonishment, sweat dripping to the ground, but he immediately replied: "The Lord taught you a lesson!"
"Then go and tell Mr. Bai, tell him everything, and make it clear whether Zhang Xing and I have any secret words." Li Ding turned around and ordered coldly.
Wang Chen nodded in astonishment, got up, and was about to leave directly, but stopped in a hurry, and handed over their hands to Li Ding and Zhang Shiniang, who were staring at her husband, and then hurriedly retreated.
And when half an hour passed and the Chinese army dispersed in front of the tent, the captain of Wu'an County finally found Bai Hengqiu and made a detailed report.
Bai Hengqiu, who was sitting on the couch wearing only his shirt, nodded after listening: "So, he didn't lie?"
Wang Chen, who was standing aside, was stunned and quickly responded: "That's true."
"But he took you there specifically, and told me specifically, did he doubt you?" The British father suddenly came to ask.
"Yes, so my subordinate immediately followed him and showed his sincerity... But he, he didn't seem to care." Wang Chen was astonished and became more cautious.
"Of course he doesn't care." Bai Hengqiu also smiled. "he……"
As soon as he started talking, the British Duke suddenly raised his head and looked to the northeast, then nodded: "You go ahead! Li Ding is just out of anger, I don't dare to do anything to you."
Wang Chen was astonished and relieved, and hurriedly walked away again.
After walking for a while, Bai Hengqiu also stood up, walked out wearing only his middle coat, and then looked in the direction of the other side of the river at the Deposed Dragon Army Camp, slightly lost in thought - no one else, with his cultivation level, he had already noticed that there was something there. A night raid battle broke out, and it was a raid battle dominated by practicing masters.
It seems that the purple-faced king whom he admired very much that day also went there in person.
What is unintentional is that regardless of the outcome or the size of the battle, this is the first battle of this battle.
"Beat the drum, gather the generals." Bai Hengqiu looked at the slightly glowing camp opposite, and then at the stream of light that was already faintly visible in the naked eye on the other side of the river in the northeast. He calmly issued the military order with his hands behind his back. "Let Dou Qi stay behind to guard the central army, and Sun Shunde guard the rear army's food crops. Liu Yangji and Bai Liben will lead the team, and bring all the Ningdan and above generals from Taiyuan in the army to support them, overwhelm the opponent with numbers, and scare the thieves back... This battle is even the slightest bit cheaper, and I won’t let it go.”
(End of chapter)
