"Huh, siege? I think you're scared. How can anyone not die in a war?" Before Yu Jin could finish his words, Yu Gui looked at Song Xin and said disapprovingly: "I thought Colonel Song could do anything. It’s a good idea, but it turns out you have to hold back.”
Yu Gui did not dare to refute Zhang He, but he wanted to criticize Song Xin by refuting Song Xin.
"If we don't take advantage of our army's high morale and attack the enemy camp in one go, how long will it take?"
"Yes, the weather is getting colder day by day. Should we wait until the mountains are blocked by heavy snow before we attack?"
"Hmph, you just won a few battles by luck, so you think you are a general who can fight a hundred battles?"
Seeing the Taishan generals sarcastic one after another, the generals from Hebei Province had long heard that they were referring to Sang and Huaiwei, and they couldn't help it. A general from Hebei stood up and sneered: "What? You are really powerful. How come the sneak attack failed and Chen Lan's partial army was chased across the mountain to flee?"
"Yes, if General Zhang He hadn't come to the rescue, you might not have been able to come back." Another general beside the Hebei general immediately agreed.
"Also, who mistrusted Mei Cheng before and allowed him to escape to Tianzhu Peak and join forces with Chen Lan?"
These sarcastic words made Yu Jin and others' faces suddenly show embarrassment. A man behind Yu Jin, who was extremely angry, slammed the table and cursed: "Victory and defeat are common things in military affairs. Weren't you also surrendered after being defeated by the Prime Minister?" "
Hearing that they mentioned Zhang He's departure from Yuan Shao, the generals in Hebei also cursed loudly. Both sides were red-faced and pointed at each other and cursed, and the big tent was full of people for a while.
Song Xin secretly shook his head and lamented that the struggle among the factions was really everywhere.
Zhang Liao's face gradually darkened as he watched the dispute between the two sides.
"You started arguing before the enemy army was defeated."
"I have something to say early today, so I can speak freely. Song Xin just talked about his strategy, what are you talking about!?" When Zhang Liao said this, he looked at Yu Gui with sharp eyes.
Yu Jin noticed the evil look in Zhang Liao's eyes, and moved his body slightly to block Yu Gui's face, then showed a gentle smile, "Where did Wen Yuan's words go? I didn't mean to target Song Xin just now."
Zhang Liao's eyes narrowed and he said noncommittally: "Then what do you mean?"
Yu Jin still had a smile on his face and said, "All the generals also want to defeat the enemy as soon as possible and make meritorious deeds. In addition, since we are all generals, our tempers are naturally a bit irritable. Our words are a little disrespectful. Please forgive me, general."
Then he said unhurriedly: "I have been entrusted by the Prime Minister to supply the army with food and grass. Now it is difficult to transport food and grass for the battle here. The enemy is short of food, and our army is also short of food. Our army only has enough food and grass for twenty days. If we don’t capture Tianzhu Peak as soon as possible, I’m afraid it’s not Chen Lan who will be defeated first, but our army.”
As soon as these words came out, as expected, the faces of Hebei generals also showed hesitation. Once the army runs out of food, its morale will be in chaos, and it will collapse without the enemy attacking it.
"So I think that the best strategy is to take advantage of the enemy's low morale and attack with force."
"My internal correspondent also sent news that many soldiers in Chen Lan have started to flee due to lack of food."
After Yu Jin finished speaking, he glanced proudly at everyone.
"If I serve as the vanguard, and with the bravery of Taishan's army, I will definitely be able to defeat the enemy."
When Yu Jinyan said it, the generals behind him immediately echoed loudly: "Yes! Although our Taishan Army suffered a small loss, our muscles and bones have not been injured. This time, we must be the ones to attack Tianzhu Peak!"
"That's wrong!" Niugai suddenly shouted and stood up.
"When you attacked the Shazhou camp before, you seemed so sworn and confident. But what?"
"The Prime Minister asked General Yu to serve as governor of the army's food and fodder. With such an important position, how can he allow you to fight in battle again?"
After Niu Gai finished speaking, the generals from Hebei also responded, "You have taken away all the military exploits. What should we do?"
"That's right! I won't let you do anything this time!"
Yu Jin sneered, "Crossing the mountains and forests, my Taishan soldiers are stronger. General Niu
Just don't say any more. "
There was a hint of contempt in his words, which immediately angered Niu Gai even more. "Why, you look down on us Yanzhao warriors?"
Yu Jin laughed and said, "I didn't mean that. It's just that Chen Lan's Di soldiers are very powerful. I'm afraid you might make a mistake."
"My men are all brave men of Yan and Zhao who are worth one hundred, so why should I be afraid of a few Di people!"
Yu Jin smiled again and said: "Haha, General Niu, what if you fail to take Tianzhu Peak, lose your troops and horses, and hurt the morale of our army? Let us Taishan soldiers go."
The generals on both sides were noisy again, and they all wanted to fight for the opportunity to attack Tianzhu Peak.
"Report!" Suddenly an anxious shout broke the noise, and all the generals turned to look outside the tent. A scout quickly ran in and knelt down on one knee and said, "Report! Lei Xu's general Zhang Chao is coming with his army to kill us!"
Zhang Liao stood up with a roar, "How many people are there?"
"Reportedly seven thousand!"
When the generals heard that there were so many people, they all took a breath.
"Who is this Zhang Chao (Miao)?"
Zhang Liao didn't know the commander of the enemy's reinforcements, so he asked everyone.
At this time, a person stood up. Song Xin saw that this person was actually Han Sima, who had been captured by him in Baiya Mountain. Ever since he followed Chen Kang's uncle and nephew, the two had never met again. This man was sitting behind a group of Taishan generals, so Song Xin didn't notice him at first.
However, Song Xin did not expect that he could actually participate in a military meeting of this level.
"General, this man is from the Di tribe. He was adopted by Lei Xu since he was a child. He is now the most powerful general under his command. He is brave enough to be worthy of any man." Han Sima's words were full of fear for Zhang Chao.
But Song Xin racked his brains and couldn't remember that there had ever been such a prominent figure in history. But judging from Han Sima's demeanor and tone, he probably didn't exaggerate on purpose.
Zhang Liao nodded and stood up. He walked to the sand table and asked, "Where are they? How many cavalry and infantry?"
"About seven thousand, including one thousand cavalry and six thousand infantry. We are about to arrive at Qiujialing, a hundred miles south of our camp!" the scout replied loudly.
Zhang Liao turned his eyes and instantly found Qiu Jialing on the sand table. But seeing a few small flags there, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Who is stationed at Qiujialing?"
Yu Jin stood up and replied, "It's my subordinate, General Zhao Cong."
Niu Gai also stood up and said, "There are also three thousand soldiers and horses from my general Niu Chuang."
Zhang Liao nodded and said thoughtfully: "Qiujialing is a steep mountain. Although our army is small in number, it shouldn't be difficult to defend it."
The terrain of Qiujialing is divided into east and west ridges, and there is a road leading to Tianzhu Peak between the two peaks. In order to be on guard against enemy reinforcements, Zhang Liao built a walled city on the two peaks of Qiujialing and on the main road to defend against enemy reinforcements. Yu Jin's subordinate Zhao Cong was stationed at the west ridge, while Niu Chuang was stationed at the east ridge and the main road. There is a large river behind Niu Chuang and Zhao Cong's camp, about three feet wide and one foot deep. Cao Jun divided half of his weapons and supplies and stationed them on the other side of the river. Once Qiujialing could no longer resist, he could quickly retreat to the north bank of the river to defend himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, a scout suddenly rolled in and crawled in. Everyone saw that his face was bloody and there were stab wounds on his shoulders. "Report...report to the general! General Zhao Cong's camp was breached by Zhang Chao. General Zhao Die in battle to the death!"
Zhang Liao's face turned pale in an instant, and Yu Jin was even more shocked. He rushed over and grabbed the scout by the collar, and asked with a ferocious look on his face: "What did you say, Zhao Cong is dead!?"
Niu Gai also came over and asked anxiously: "Where is Niu Chuang?"
No one expected that Zhao Cong's Xiling would be breached so quickly. Yu Jin was even more surprised. Zhao Cong was also a veteran who had been following him for many years. How could he be killed? ?
The scout was startled by Yu Jin's ferocious expression, and then burst into tears, "The villain is a subordinate of Master Niu Chuang. The general is now surrounded and is fighting to the death with the enemy. He sent me to escape the siege at night and report to the camp."
Niu Gai was shocked, looked at Zhang Liao hurriedly and said loudly: "Niu Chuang is my brother, general, please give me three thousand soldiers and horses, I will rescue him!"
Zhang Liao, however, remained silent and did not answer, staring at the sand table in front of him.
Several soldiers immediately put down a few pieces of red wood in front of the small flag representing Cao's army's camp, indicating that the enemy was attacking these strongholds. The war situation is clear at a glance.
The enemy had 7,000 soldiers and horses coming for reinforcements, and there were nearly 10,000 enemy troops on Tianzhu Peak that he faced. If you let them cooperate inside and outside, your situation will be somewhat passive.
Then Zhang Liao looked at the north bank of the Qiujialing River, where a lonely little flag stood, and Zhang Liao asked. "Who is stationed here? Why don't they go to support Niu Chuang?"
The scout who came back to report the news cried and said: "The enemy separated a division at night and attacked this camp when our army was unprepared. As soon as the defender saw the enemy, he was so frightened that he abandoned the camp and fled. I am stationed here. A lot of the army's food, grass and weapons were taken away by the enemy general Zhang Chao..."
"Now that General Niu is under attack from both sides, please send troops to rescue him as soon as possible!"
Zhang Liao opened his eyes angrily when he heard this, punched the sand table with his fist, and shouted: "Who is the guard?"
Seeing Zhang Liao's anger, Yu Jin and all the generals of the Taishan Army turned pale. This guard was a member of their Taishan Army.
Zhang He saw the clues. Although he sneered in his heart, this was not the time for internal fighting. He walked out and said, "General Zhang, I think the punishment of this person can be put aside for now. Now we must first order a general to come forward." Go and stop the enemy, otherwise they will cooperate with Chen Lanli from Tianzhu Peak and our army will be passive."
Zhang Liao clenched his fists, suppressed his anger and nodded.
Niugai strode forward and said, "I'm willing to go!"
Zhang Liao looked at Niu Gai and was about to speak when he saw another scout running in hurriedly, "Report! The enemy troops at Tianzhu Peak have moved! Thousands of people rushed down the mountain to attack our forward camp."
"Report!" Before he could finish his words, another scout rushed in and shouted loudly: "Report! There are flags flashing in the forest near Tianzhu Peak, and enemy flags were also found near several camps of our army."
Then several scouts rushed in one after another and reported news of the enemy's movements.
"It seems that Chen Lan is coordinating Zhang Chao's actions and preventing our army from dividing our troops for rescue." Song Xin listened to the reports and already understood Chen Lan's plan. He found that he still underestimated Chen Lan. He didn't expect that this guy could make such arrangements when the battle situation was unfavorable.
"Niugai, your position is important. Don't move your troops yet." Zhang Liao pressed his hand on Niugai, signaling him not to get excited. Then he looked at the generals and said, "The enemy is approaching fiercely, and our army cannot divide our forces to resist the enemy. Who has a good strategy?"
The generals looked at each other in shock. At this time, the generals of Cao's army were guarding the key passes near Tianzhu Peak and tightly surrounding the place. There was really no spare force to stop Zhang Chao.
Yu Jin stood up at this time and said to Zhang Liao: "I would like to recommend someone. This person is an attendant of Mr. Cao and a newly promoted captain of the imperial court. He has made countless contributions during this expedition. If he can lead the troops to rescue Niu Chuang , we will definitely win.”
Speaking of this, Yu Jin's eyes fell on Song Xin, "Captain Song? I wonder if you dare to go to battle?"
