Of course, Gao Jie and the others did not know that Li Yan had reached Chaohu at this time. They were all thinking about how to break through the rebels' defense line and reach Anqing City.
That night, the three of them had almost no sleep and gathered around to discuss countermeasures, but they had no plan at the moment. At dawn, a spy horse came to report that the bandit army was digging a dike ten miles away, trying to dig through Shitang Lake and the Yangtze River to block the officers and soldiers.
This plan is too vicious. If this road is cut off, the only way is to take the west mountain road. Going that way will be like climbing to the sky. Gao Jie cannot let it succeed, so he immediately sends two thousand soldiers and horses to rush there. When they get to the ground, they find that the thieves have not dug in yet. However, the road has been dug and there are three or four trenches, obviously specially for the opponent's officers, soldiers and cavalry.
Thinking of yesterday's betrayal, the officers and soldiers were angry and dared to fight with the rebels again without saying a word. However, both sides suddenly became afraid and quickly retreated. The rebels' treacherous plan to dig into the rivers and lakes failed to succeed.
What Gao Jie and the other three are afraid of is not the thousands of officers and soldiers in front of them, but the thousands of bandit troops in the west of Sturgeon Town. They have disappeared since they were repulsed yesterday. You must know that the bandit army is best at sneaking through mountains and forests. Who knows where he went around again, but Bao Buqi suddenly came out from behind again.
The three people knew how powerful they were and did not dare to be careless. They set up camp in Sturgeon Town and then sent out hundreds of scouts to scout the surrounding areas. Even if they could not detect the whereabouts of the people and horses, they could not let them touch them unknowingly. The edge of the bed.
The officers and soldiers withdrew from the river embankment and camped in Sturgeon Town. The rebels were nowhere to be found. Each side left hundreds of troops to confront each other across the trench and monitor the other.
Just like this, the day passed without realizing it. The three people, who were helpless in facing the bandits blocking their way, were getting irritated when they received two messages when it was dark.
The first is Chang Yu's military order: open the road to Anqing at all costs before Li Yan's follow-up troops arrive.
The second is that Li Yan has arrived in Chaohu, and the Shenji Battalion and the Guards are on their way.
Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo looked at each other and their expressions immediately became extremely ugly.
Although the three of them have never fought side by side with Chang Yu, they have never heard him give such an unquestionable death order to anyone. It is obvious that the little eunuch expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the three of them!
All of them are usually awesome and coaxing, but they show some real skills. Why do they get beaten up as soon as they come up...
Embarrassing! It’s really embarrassing!
"Li Yan and Huang Chuangzi will arrive in two days at most, and there will be a group of people who are here to watch the joke with them. If we are still wasting our time here, we will be completely embarrassed!" Liu Liangzuo chuckled, Liu Zeqingyin With a face: "This is not just a matter of embarrassment. Why did we come here thousands of miles away? Isn't it just to strive for credit and fame? At present, we have stopped making progress and have not made any achievements. So many people are waiting to grab the opportunity. Up, the governor won’t let us waste our time, when the time comes…”
"Fight, fight tonight! I can't afford to lose this face, and I don't intend to let this power go to me!" Gao Jie said fiercely, looking at the dim lights in the distance. On the embankment between the two rivers ten miles away, the bandit army was standing there. Wait for them there.
"Don't act rashly, we need to consider the long term." Liu Zeqing shook his head slightly and looked to the west. The lake and sky were pitch black, but he knew that there were thousands of thieves hiding there. If they launched an attack, the thieves would definitely come. **!
"It's time for the elder to steal the credit." Gao Jie said angrily and shouted: "Huama Liu, you stay here while Lao Liu and I kill you. I don't believe that his few people can stop us from joining forces!"
"Commander Gao!" Liu Zeqing shouted: "The thieves can't stop us with their small force, but have you ever thought that it's just a tactic by the thieves to lure the enemy!"
"How do you say that?" Gao Jie was stunned.
Liu Zeqing looked at the river embankment in the distance: "The road between the two rivers is more than twenty miles long. The bandit army chose to block it in the middle, and ambushed in the west to block the back road. This requires us to divide our forces to deal with it, so let's keep our distance. If there is an accident for more than ten miles, it will be difficult to take care of it. Secondly, even if we break through his defense line and know that there is no ambush behind him, maybe they lure us there deliberately... You must know that after passing this river embankment, we are still thirty miles away from Anqing City..."
"If you're afraid of wolves in front and tigers in the back, then why don't you lay a bird's egg and go back to Jinan to enjoy your happiness?" Gao Jie said angrily, which angered Liu Zeqing: "Okay, you have the final say here, you can beat us how you want." Fight, but if you lose, you will carry it!"
"Just carry it, you don't believe that the governor can chop off my head!" Gao Jie roared, Huama Liu saw the two quarreling and quickly smoothed things over: "You won't be able to chop off my head if you lose the battle. Besides, Gao Jie The Commander-in-Chief and the Governor are still brothers..." Then he said to Liu Zeqing: "You should be careful, but Commander-in-Chief Gao's words are rough and rude, and fearing the wolf in front and the tiger in the back will never accomplish anything. Fighting, fighting, this battle must be fought. Yes, instead of spending this time trying to figure out a way, we might as well fight first and maybe there will be a turn for the better."
Seeing what Huama Liu said, Liu Zeqing had no choice but to agree: "Then just do what Commander Gao said. Huama Liu, you hold the retreat, and Commander Gao and I will go kill him."
"Isn't it over for being so refreshing?" Gao Jie chuckled, walked to Liu Zeqing and patted his shoulder: "I know you are angry, and I am also angry. Let's kill the thief and calm down the anger."
Liu Zeqing smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky: "There's no rush, it won't be too late before dawn."
At the same time that the military order arrived in the hands of Gao Jie and the others, Chang Yu led his troops from the other side of the Yangtze River and arrived outside Tongling City. Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, and Wang TiZhong came out of the city to greet them. Chang Yu did not hesitate to praise the three men for their courage in fighting and fighting with both wisdom and courage, and specifically named Wang TiZhong. It made him so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.
It was already dark after entering the city, so the yamen had to hold a celebration banquet. In addition to Chang Yu, Wu Sangui, Ma Ke and the commanders of Dongchang, even Wang Zamao also came to the banquet. It was quite cramped and exciting. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted. The words were so flattering that Wang Tizhong frowned secretly and looked down upon this guy.
There was not much gossip during the banquet, and most of the talk was about military affairs. Wu Sangui, Wang Tizhong, and Ma Ke talked about the war in the past few days in detail, which made the generals exclaim and praise. Even Chang Yu nodded, and then the topic started. around the current situation.
Bai Wang saw that the army of officers and soldiers had arrived and that it was no longer possible to attack the city, so he withdrew his troops ten miles south of the city to seize the main road going south. He stationed troops at the foot of the mountain on the east side. The conflicts continued, so that they only dared to wander a few miles south of the city and did not dare to cross the border.
Chang Yu listened carefully, frowned and asked: "Is this the only way to Chizhou?" Everyone looked at Wang Tizhong, and he was the one who knew it best among those present. After all, he came from the south.
Wang Tizhong nodded vigorously: "The east side is full of deep mountains and old forests. There is a road like this right next to the river. The widest is only a hundred paces, and the widest for pedestrians is only ten or twenty paces. There are hills to the east and river beaches to the west. It’s more than ten miles long, and there’s a big river blocking the way around the mountain pass. What’s the name of the river..."
"Qingtong River" Wang Zamao quickly interrupted.
"Yes, Qingtong River! After crossing the river to the south, there are potholes everywhere. To the west is the river beach and to the east there are many swamps and the roads are not wide. Moreover, Chizhou City and Tongling City are generally on the riverside, and there is a large lake to the north. , called Pingtian Lake, is very close to the Yangtze River, only a few hundred meters apart, and it is also a dangerous place. Bai Wang Shao must not have to fortify it..."
Everyone frowned after listening to Wang Tizhong's words, which meant that even if Bai Wang was defeated at the mountain pass south of the city, he could retreat to Qingtong River and set up a defense line again, and even if he was defeated again, he could retreat and set up defenses at Pingtian Lake.
"It seems that it is not easy to reach Chizhou City." Chang Yu smiled bitterly and asked, "Can we send a troop of soldiers and horses from the mountains to cut off the retreat?"
Wang Tizhong shook his head: "The mountains to the east stretch endlessly, I don't know how deep they are, and I don't know if there is a road in them. Moreover, even if there is a road, there is a huge lake in the south of the mountain blocking it, making it impossible to cross. The Qingtong River is connected to that large lake. , that lake is very big..."
After listening a lot, Chang Yu already had a 3D map of Tongling and Chizhou in his mind. The Yangtze River runs northeast from Chizhou to the south of Tongling and suddenly turns to the north. Tongling is close to the Yangtze River, and its southeastern mountains are surrounded by mountains and low hills. , there is only a long and narrow mountain road to Chizhou that is close to the foot of the mountain beside the river. Around the mountain is a large lake, and you have to go to Chizhou close to the river...
But obviously Bai Wang will use these terrains to block it. If he wants to go to Chizhou, he has to pass through at least three lines of defense!
Chang Yu turned his attention to Li Muxian: "Does the Taoist priest have any good ideas?"
Li Muxian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "There is no other way but to attack by force."
"General Wu, what do General Ma think?" Chang Yu looked at the two of them again.
