Outside Qiutou Town, devastation was everywhere, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood.
The low town walls were damaged in many places, and there were corpses strewn all over the ground inside and outside the town, and there was a sea of fire.
In the river that is about to dry up outside the town, there are rotting corpses one after another. There are men, women, old and young. They are in ragged clothes and barely cover their bodies.
Qiutou Town actually became history not long ago.
The strong wind blew, blowing countless fiery red flags on the official road.
"Qiutou Town..."
Not far away, Qiutou Town was already a sea of fire, and the coldness in Chen Wang's heart became more and more intense.
The strong and disgusting smell of putridity and blood were mixed in the air, and everyone who smelled the smell couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses.
The easy attack on Qiutou Town was just a ploy to lure the enemy deeper.
All the way north from Qiutou Town, the terrain on both sides is gradually rising. In front of you is the mountainous area. The bandits' ambush should be not far ahead, hidden among the mountains and valleys. Those places are the best places to set up ambushes. land.
Chen Wang did not immediately stand up to warn.
He wanted to find the most appropriate opportunity, an opportunity that would allow Cao Wenzhao to remember his name firmly.
Most of the servants were taken away by Cao Bianjiao. Now Cao Wenzhao only has them, more than a hundred old soldiers who came from Liaodong. They are all Cao Wenzhao's personal guards. Cao Wenzhao is with him at this time. Not far ahead.
No one knew that there were thousands of ambushes ahead, and the bandits had already set up a net to wait.
Chen Wang slowly exhaled a breath, he remembered the records in the history of the Ming Dynasty clearly.
"The thieves are laying siege with tens of thousands of horses, and the hedgehogs are gathering."
"The thieves didn't know it was an imperial edict. One of the soldiers was anxious and shouted: 'General, save me!' The rebel soldiers among the thieves recognized it, and they caught the thief and said, 'This is General Cao's army.'"
"The thief is happy, and the siege is getting tighter. Wen Zhao jumped left and right, killing dozens of people with his hands, and fought for several miles."
"Without strength, he drew his sword and killed himself. More than 20 people died during the guerrilla attack on Ping'an."
Cao Wenzhao was killed for two reasons: one was a surprise attack, and the other was because his identity was exposed. Finally, he was heavily surrounded by an army of bandits. After fighting for several miles, he was exhausted and committed suicide with his sword. And die.
To find wealth in danger, sometimes you have to go all out, and you have to go all out.
As a servant, you can indeed obtain the best weapons and equipment, receive sufficient food and salary, and enjoy the best treatment, but it also blocks the normal path to promotion.
Those who have the ability to command and lead troops will indeed be deployed as officers, but they are only brave in nature and have a rather withdrawn personality.
Therefore, although he has killed many enemies, he has always been just a personal guard, and now Chen Wang wants to change this image.
If he can rescue Cao Wenzhao from the tight siege, he will enter Cao Wenzhao's eyes and leave a deep impression in his heart. By then, he will no longer be just an ordinary personal guard.
…
Under the banner, Cao Wenzhao held the reins in his hands tightly, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.
He gritted his teeth and suppressed his emotions as much as possible.
The raging fire reflected on the mountain armor and battle robe on his body, and the anger continued to boil in his heart.
He looked at Qiutou Town, which had turned into a sea of fire.
In the battle of Ranmachuan, the vanguard Liu Honglie was captured. Ai Wannian and Liu Guozhen were unable to fight and both died in the battle. Only Liu Chenggong and Wang Ximing returned with serious injuries. Only a few hundred of the three thousand soldiers and horses were able to survive. escape,
Ai Wannian had known him for many years, but now he died on the battlefield and his soul returned to Jiuquan.
The Tartars in the north are becoming more and more rampant, and the situation can be said to have collapsed.
Lin Dan Khan of Mongolia died in Qinghai, and now the entire Monan Mongolia has been annexed by the Jurchens. The already powerful Jurchens are now growing in power again.
Nowadays, the northern border is relatively peaceful for the time being, but it is foreseeable that once the Jurchens move south again, there will be another bloody storm.
There are worries inside and troubles outside,
The war in the interior must not be delayed any longer, otherwise once the rebels move south, they will be attacked from both sides.
Tartars, bandits, and disasters all came one after another.
Every one of them is a disaster.
When will this world be peaceful?
Cao Wenzhao looked back at the soldiers behind him. The servants were still full of energy, but the infantry who followed him all the way to the battle looked haggard and depressed.
This advance was really a helpless move. Yingzhou, Shouzhou, Bozhou, Huoqiu and other counties in Fengyang Prefecture fell, as did Wuwei Prefecture, Chaoxian and other counties in Lujiang Prefecture.
With the fall of many counties and the destruction of the Fengyang Emperor's mausoleum, the emperor was furious. He sent out 70,000 soldiers from his side and the army, and more than 1 million taels of money from the capital, province, and government as military pay, and was restricted to six months. As generals, they had no choice but to follow the edict.
In front of him, the messenger carrying the command flag reported to him the battle report of Qiutou Town.
His nephew Cao Bianjiao had already led the vanguard cavalry in pursuit. There were less than 3,000 bandits guarding Qiutou Town. Judging from their banner, they were under the command of the general Li Zicheng.
"Didn't I ask you to stop him? I have my general order, and if you are tougher, how dare he not listen?!"
Cao Wenzhao's expression was cold, his brows were furrowed, and he scolded the generals who stayed outside Qiutou Town to support them.
Cao Bianjiao is his nephew. He has been close to him since childhood. He knows Cao Bianjiao very well and has a fiery personality, like a powder keg.
Being brave means being brave, but it still lacks some overall concepts.
As a forward this time, he repeatedly warned him not to pursue the enemy too far, but it seemed that he did not listen to these words.
The generals he sent to supervise were also timid and could not stop Cao Bianjiao at all.
"Order the horse to gallop and send a message to the forward to stop immediately!"
Cao Wenzhao waved his horse whip and issued military orders again.
Cao Bianjiao only brought more than 500 cavalry under his command. He was worried that his pursuit would be too deep and he would be surrounded by rogue thieves. He had to lead his army to respond.
It is unknown how many thieves broke into Qingyang Mansion. Some reports said there were thousands, and some said tens of thousands.
If there were tens of thousands of enemy troops around Zhen Ning, and such a light force rushed in and were surrounded in the center, it would be a near-death situation.
"Send the order, all troops put on armor!"
The flag of the order was waving, the hoofbeats of the horses sounded rapidly, and the cavalry passing the order flew past both sides of the queue, conveying the military order loudly.
"The entire army is in armor!"
"Woo————"
The next moment, the low sound of the trumpet slowly sounded over the official road, reaching the ears of all the Ming army soldiers.
"Armor!"
The Ming army officer standing next to the team, wearing a red hat and carrying a wild goose feather sword, immediately repeated the military order loudly after hearing the sound of the bugle and the order.
"Armor!"
For a time, the sound of shouting and shouting resounded throughout the official road.
When the army marches, there are scouts to explore and the front team to explore the road, so they usually march without armor.
Only the scouts will march in armor on the march, and the scouts will take turns to attack, and they will be replaced after a while.
Armor and armaments can easily weigh dozens of kilograms. According to the records in "Martial Arts", according to the standards of the elite Nine-Border Ming Army, a suit of armor and armaments can even weigh up to ninety kilograms. Wearing armor and marching, I'm afraid they will all collapse from exhaustion in less than a moment, let alone fighting the enemy.
Wearing armor is cumbersome, but there are rules for donning armor in battle. Everyone helps each other put on armor and organize their weapons according to the rules.
Chen Wang tightened the leather belt around his waist, tied up the six-petal iron helmet with a red flag on the head, straightened it up, and fixed it firmly.
On the battlefield, any laxity will cost people's lives, and there is no room for any relaxation in checking military readiness.
The armor and weapons he wore weighed more than sixty kilograms in total, which was not as heavy as recorded in the "Wu Bian".
After confirming that there were no leaks, Chen Wang stepped on one of the stirrups, and with just a slight exertion, he left the ground and sat firmly on the saddle.
Because there could be a battle at any time, in order to conserve horse power, all the servants led the horses. Only the bodyguards guarding Cao Wenzhao rode horses if they had horses to change.
When the news of the forward engagement came, the guards who had been riding to protect Cao Wenzhao also put on their armor and changed horses.
Chen Wang's face was as dark as water, and he put his hand on the saber at his waist. The cold texture came from his fingertips, gradually calming down his messy thoughts.
Only when holding a knife and gun in his hands, Chen Wang would feel a little bit safe and feel that he could truly control his life.
The rim in front of the iron helmet blocked the slanting sunlight, allowing Chen Wang to see the situation in front of him.
The war horses dug uneasily into the soil around their feet with their hoofs, snorting could be heard everywhere, the ringing of horse bells became clearer, and a group of Ming army soldiers wearing red armor were ready to go.
The red flags were fluttering in the strong wind, the bright red helmet flags were shining in the sun, and the endless chilling air slowly rose from the military formation.
Chen Wang felt ice-cold in his heart, and the hand holding the reins trembled uncontrollably.
Although he has long been used to seeing battle formations, not only in his memory, but in just two months since he came to this world, he has personally experienced more than ten battle formations.
Fear is instinct, and it is the instinct of people in the face of death.
The purpose of military training is to overcome the fear in human nature and use discipline, battle formations, equipment, skills and collective strength to strengthen confidence and overcome fear.
The fear in his heart did not affect him much.
The memories of battle formations engraved in his bones and blood quickly dispelled the fear in his heart.
In the military, there is a strict hierarchy.
The order is like a mountain and cannot be disobeyed.
"Woo————"
The trumpet sounds again, this time the trumpet is not the trumpet of armor, but the trumpet of march.
"Walk quickly!"
The flags were waving, and the military academy shouted orders loudly.
On the official road, all the Ming troops were ready to go, and all of them had finished donning their armor.
Amidst the sound of advancing one after another, they raised their indifferent faces, stepped on their tired legs, and walked forward silently.
Chen Wang tilted his head slightly to look at the army advancing side by side.
Beside him were a group of servant cavalry with helmets on their heads and murderous intent.
Behind them are groups of infantry, neatly dressed and carrying spears on their shoulders.
Above the official road, the sounds of armor clashing, footsteps, and horse hooves all converged together, as loud as a swollen river.
"History of the Ming Dynasty·Biography·Volume 156":
"The thieves took advantage of the danger and fought against the enemy with a thousand cavalry. They shouted loudly and fell into the formation. All the armies advanced together, but the thieves were defeated. The thieves were brave enough to defeat the three armies. When the thieves heard the name of General Cao, big and small, they were all frightened."
