The lame Taoist won the first battle, and the captured armor, shields, and bows were used to arm the Taoist soldiers and rebels, narrowing the gap with the imperial army.
Although the Dao soldiers and the rebels have not received formal training, they can make up for the gap because they are fighting against the odds and are not afraid of death.
The captured armor and horses can be used to arm a thousand heavy armored cavalry. All it takes is to select a thousand people who are proficient in riding skills and undergo simple training to be able to go into battle to kill the enemy.
As for archers, they are easy to find. Although the rebels have not participated in formal training, there are many people who can hunt.
As a shield bearer, you only need to find a group of strong people and give them a little training.
Lame Taoist's operation this time consisted of an army of 10,000 Taoist soldiers and 50,000 rebels.
With the last victory boosting morale, and the equipment being no weaker than the imperial army, everyone was full of confidence, just waiting to be rewarded after winning the battle and enjoy life.
This time Tong Guan tried his best to take command personally and dispatched more than 100,000 troops, vowing to defeat the lame Taoist army in one fell swoop.
First, the shield soldiers guarded the front, and the archers shot at each other. The two sides were equally divided.
Tong Guan once again dispatched heavy armored cavalry, and the lame Taoist also responded with heavy armored cavalry and ordered other soldiers to charge.
The war breaks out, with blood and blood flying everywhere. Both sides have casualties. The battle is to see which side is not afraid of death.
When 10% of the soldiers fell, the imperial army showed its timidity, but the Taoist soldiers and the rebel army became more and more courageous as they fought.
When the casualties reached 20%, the imperial army was defeated, and the Taoist soldiers and the rebel army took advantage of the victory to pursue them.
After this battle, Tong Guan gathered the remnants of the army. Apart from those who died in the battle, those who were lost, and those who fled, there were less than 30,000 people left, which was a quarter, which can be said to be a heavy loss.
The Taoist soldiers suffered 3,000 casualties and the rebels suffered more than 10,000 casualties. This battle was a great victory and the morale of the rebels was greatly boosted.
Fang La opened the city gates again, personally welcomed the victorious warriors, and gave them great rewards.
With 30,000 remaining soldiers and defeated generals, they would definitely not be able to defeat the rebel army, so they asked the court for help, but Tong Guan could not afford to lose this person.
Even if Tong Guan was willing to lower his face and ask for help from the court, Chu Huizong would not let Tong Guan lead the army again. He would definitely put Tong Guan in prison and replace him with other generals to conquer Fangla.
There is no way ahead for Tong Guan, it is a dead end.
suicide! Abandon the army and run away! Ask for help from nearby states and counties!
Tong Guan discussed with the generals for three days and three nights, but still could not find a proper solution.
Tong Guan sighed dejectedly:
"If there is no way to break the situation, I will have no choice but to die to apologize."
"It's not that there are no strategies to break the situation. As long as General Tong can lend Pindao a batch of kerosene, Pindao can let General Tong return in triumph."
The lame Taoist appeared in the camp out of nowhere and said some earth-shattering words.
Seeing the lame Taoist, Tong Guan was so angry that he jumped up and cursed:
"Ouyang Xi, you idiot. As an official of the imperial court, you are living off the emperor. You don't know how to worry about the emperor. Instead, you help the rebels to deal with our imperial army. You are deceiving the emperor and the crime cannot be punished."
The lame Taoist said:
"General Tong's words are wrong. As the saying goes, a soldier never tires of deceit. Everything Tong did was just to gain Fang La's trust.
At this moment, Pindao has laid out a plan. As long as the children's clothing army is willing to cooperate, Fang La can hardly fly. "
Tong Guan said:
"Ouyang Xi, you destroyed my army of more than 100,000 people, why should I still believe you?"
The lame Taoist said with a smile:
"Because, besides believing in Pindao, General Tong has only one other option, and that is to commit suicide and apologize.
If General Tong doesn't want to die, he has no choice but to believe in Pindao. "
The lame Taoist was right. Tong Guan really had no choice but to believe in the lame Taoist.
Tong Guan didn't want to die, so he could only treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor, and said:
"The Taoist master is so calculating, I really have no choice but to trust you, general.
Whatever conditions you have, Taoist Priest, just say it. As long as you can help me win this battle, I owe you my life.
No matter at any time, if the Taoist priest wants to take back the general's life, the general will give it to him unconditionally.
No matter what the Taoist priest has to do, this general will go through fire and water without frowning. "
Tong Guan was also a ruthless man. After seeing the situation clearly, he knew that only a lame Taoist could break the situation, so he risked his life.
Life or death depends on the lame Taoist. Tong Guan can no longer control his own life or death.
The lame Taoist had a ghastly smile on his face and said bitterly:
“I want kerosene, the more the better, I want to burn the entire city of Hangzhou.
I want Hongjun to know that there is a price to be paid for angering Pindao. "
Tong Guan remembered what Zhuge Banshan said:
"Ouyang Xi longs for blood and likes to kill like crazy. The more people die, the happier he is."
"He is indeed a lunatic!"
Tong Guan's mind was spinning, and he already believed that the lame Taoist would help him deal with Fang La.
As for the lame Taoist who would help the rebels deal with his army, it was purely for the purpose of killing.
But now, Tong Guan has less than 30,000 troops, and the lame Taoist has begun to hoe the strong and help the weak to help him.
Thinking of the lame Taoist's cold eyes and cold words, Tong Guan shuddered a little.
Tong Guan had even seen Fang La's defeat and the rebels bleeding into rivers.
Seeing that Tong Guan's face was gloomy and uncertain, but he refused to answer, the lame Taoist laughed and said:
"General Tong, the battlefield is a life-and-death situation. To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself.
Could it be that General Tong had the kindness of a woman and couldn't bear to see the rebels suffer too many casualties, and began to regret cooperating with Pindao? "
Tong Guan has been in battle for a long time and has killed countless enemies. How could he shrink back from a mere bloody scene? He said:
"Taoist Master, please rest assured. Give me seven days, and I will transfer all the kerosene from nearby counties.
This general also wants to see the city of Hangzhou in the sea of fire. "
Tong Guan was ordered to suppress the bandits, and nearby states and counties must cooperate fully. Anyone who violates this rule will definitely be punished by Qiu Hou.
Therefore, as soon as Tong Guan's letter arrived, nearby prefectures and counties immediately loaded trucks with kerosene from the warehouse and made every effort to search for kerosene in the city.
Seven days later, mountains of kerosene were piled up outside Hangzhou.
On the grounds that there was an important military operation, the lame Taoist asked people from each camp to come and collect three barrels of kerosene and store them in the tents. When they received the order, they would start taking action immediately.
At dusk, when the 90,000 rebel troops were asleep, the 10,000 Taoist soldiers poured kerosene into each tent.
Most of the rebels were asleep, and some of them were choked by the smell of kerosene and woke up. They did not dare to leave the camp without permission because they had not received orders.
The Taoist soldiers lit fires and countless tents began to burn. Some rebels rushed out of the tents and were greeted by a hail of arrows.
Taoist soldiers armed with bows and arrows stood guard around the camp. Anyone who left the camp and tried to escape was immediately shot.
The flames spread and ignited the kerosene in the camp. Most of the rebels were burned alive before they could get out of the camp.
The fire continued to burn until the next morning, and the camp was burned to ashes. The 90,000 rebels in the camp were burned alive, leaving no one alive.
Although he had won a round and was in sight of victory, Tong Guan felt chills running down his spine, and boundless fear spread to the point where he was trembling all over.
Tong Guan couldn't even tell whether he was happy because he won the battle, or whether he felt inexplicable fear because of the rebels who were brutally burned to death.
