A few miles west of Songjinao, the Sui army's camp had been set up. The leader of this army was Li Jing, who was chasing him. Murong Bei's aimless walking back and forth also gave Li Jing time to calmly deploy his troops. . At the same time, Li Jing also saw Murong Bei's fear of war from his scurrying behavior.
In view of Murongbei's characteristics, Li Jing asked Cui Shi, Po Chaoqi and Yang Tie to lead the Qiang soldiers to escort tens of thousands of prisoners to the Xianbei prairie to take control. He also urgently transferred the troops of Achi and Qibi back to the army to obey orders, and added With the 5,000 middle route troops and 6,000 surrender troops led by Division Cui, his total force reached more than 24,000.
After that, the troops were divided into two groups, and Wei Yunqi and Shi Huaiyi, who had regained their composure, were ordered to lead 5,000 middle route troops and 6,000 surrender troops to detour northward and be responsible for cutting off Murong Bei's escape northward; while he led 13,000 The Yiting Allied Forces and the Qibi Army marched eastward and put pressure on Murong Bei from the west.
Through this arrangement, the final decisive battle mission was mainly completed by him and Yang Ji; as for Wei Yunqi, a miscellaneous soldier with complex origins, different people's hearts, and weak combat power, it was mainly to intimidate and assist.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, Li Jing sat on the main seat, followed by Ling Jing, Achi, Qibi Zuoyi, Li Shimo and other generals. Ling Jing, who was ordered to be in charge of military affairs, bowed his hands to Li Jing and said: "General, General Wei has led the army to the north of the enemy before dark, blocking Murongbei's escape north. The king's army also bypassed the Truba River. , arrived due south of the enemy camp."
"Almost." Li Jing silently counted the time and said: "Our army has just arrived. It was a God-given opportunity for Murong Bei to defeat them one by one and boost the morale of the army. However, he did not move, which shows that after his defeat at Bailangyuan, he not only completely lost We have lost our fighting spirit and can’t even decide where to flee. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have watched our three armies outflank us. With the king’s courage, he will definitely come with pressure tomorrow morning. This is what we are waiting for. When we send out troops.”
"Send troops?" Several people were stunned. If the two armies send troops tomorrow, wouldn't it mean that Ling Jing's plan has failed? Doesn't it mean that we have to attack by force in the end?
"That's right." Li Jing looked at everyone and said with a smile: "We are not sending troops to attack by force, but to cooperate with Ling Sima's ingenious plan to further force the desperate servants Pugu Chong and Tong Luo Mo; but to force them to have no intention of distinguishing the strange things. The truth of the plot forced them to turn against Murong Bei for their own future and destiny."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Achi thought for a moment and asked, "What if Pu Gu Chong and Tong Luo Mo don't rebel?"
Li Jing said without hesitation: "Fight!"
"That's good!" The faces of the generals suddenly showed expressions of excitement. A general like Li Jing, if he can use strategy, he will try not to fight, and if he can fight small, he will not fight too much. In this way, he can ensure that he will not suffer heavy casualties. However, the generals under the chief general do not care about so many. As they are Military general, who doesn't want to be able to gallop on the battlefield? Who doesn’t want to achieve great success in a great war?
If every war is won by cunning tactics, what do they have to do with these generals? Where does the credit for their promotion come from?
Li Jing took out an order arrow and solemnly said: "Li Shimo obeys the order!"
Li Shimo's eyes lit up, he stood up and saluted, "The general is here!"
Li Jing said: "You lead a thousand cavalry to carry out a strategy of exhausting the enemy's troops, creating a posture for the enemy to attack tonight and draining the enemy's energy for the decisive battle tomorrow."
Li Shimo stepped forward to receive the order: "I will obey the order!"
"Go and prepare." Li Jing nodded, and he looked at the other generals: "Murong Bei's heart is already in confusion, and everyone else has their own ideas. Maybe there will be a big change tonight; you guys should rush back to the headquarters immediately. , so that the soldiers are ready to attack at any time."
"General, I obey!" Everyone accepted the order happily.
Just as the generals were about to disperse, Han Yue walked in with a few soldiers and saluted Li Jing: "General Qi, the king's messenger is here."
"Oh?" Li Jing looked at the leader of the fire. He recognized this person as one of Yang Ji's guards and asked quickly: "I wonder what the king's order is?"
The fire chief took out a command arrow and handed it to Li Jing respectfully. Then he raised his hand and said, "To General Li, the king has decided to launch an attack on the enemy camp early tomorrow morning. At that time, the king will personally lead the army as the main force and attack from the due south. Attract the enemy's attention and main force, and the general will serve as a partial division of the main force; as for when to send troops, it is up to the general to decide. In addition, the king also asked the general to carry out a strategy of exhausting the enemy's troops that night to prepare for tomorrow's decisive battle. Be prepared."
Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this.
It turns out that heroes think alike.
Li Jing pondered for a long time and asked: "When is the specific time that your Majesty will send out troops?"
"The king will approach the enemy camp tonight. As for when to fight, the king said he can't say for sure. It may be tonight or tomorrow." The fire chief glanced at Li Jing inexplicably and added: "Anyway, he said, The general knows how to cooperate.”
"Okay, I understand." Li Jing chuckled. Although Yang Ji's order was very unreliable and ridiculous, what Yang Ji was thinking coincided with his thoughts and layout. Both of them were Waiting for the enemy's reaction, they are all waiting for the fighter planes to appear. Moreover, after Yang Ji's arrangement, the two armies were divided into masters and slaves, and Li Jing also knew how to cooperate.
This kind of tacit understanding of "heroes see the same thing" and the feeling of "won my heart" made Li Jing very happy. He smiled and said to the fire chief: "Please go back and tell the king that I am ready. Troops will be dispatched at the critical moment and at the appropriate time, please rest assured, Your Majesty."
"Here, I say goodbye to my humble position!"
…
Farther to the southeast, in the night where Murong Bei's scouts could not reach, there was a huge crowd of people and horses. Twenty-three thousand Great Sui Jingqi barely maintained their formation in the night, escorting a thousand prisoners towards the enemy camp. A thousand prisoners were surrounded in the middle, each holding an ox in their hands.
Each of these cows had a large amount of straw tied to their bodies and tails, and was doused with flammable mutton butter. The Sui soldiers responsible for supervising the captives also carried some straight wooden sticks on their horses. ,rope.
Obviously, Yang Ji once again planned to use the fire ox to rush into Murong Bei's camp, attack Murong Bei's soldiers, and then let his own soldiers follow the fire ox into the enemy camp.
Yang Ji rode his Hummer forward slowly. After reaching the optimal attack distance, he stopped his horse and stared silently at the brightly lit camp in the distance. His cold eyes were like those of a wolf staring at prey. Generally, they are full of excitement about catching prey.
Night battles have long been commonplace for Yang Ji. Before he sent out troops, he had sent a large number of sharp archers to sneak near the enemy camp. Occasionally, Murong Bei's scouts and patrols would approach and be killed by these sharp archers with poisonous arrows. clean.
Xue Ju's eyes were also shining with excitement, and he asked Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, when will we attack?"
"Night attack is a science. Let's wait until the end of Yinshi to attack!" Yang Ji explained: "People's defenses have realized that they will be lowest in the second half of the night. Even if Murong Bei prevents our army from attacking at night, after most of the night, After being on guard and being harassed by Li Jing in the middle of the night, the energy and physical strength of the soldiers have been greatly reduced, so the end of Yinshi is the best time. Another advantage is that after an hour of fighting, the sky has brightened, which is a good way to evaluate the enemy and ourselves. Strength and the convenience of chasing down deserters; even if we cannot defeat the enemy, we can use the hazy sky and heavy fog to retreat. However, the enemy does not know the strength of our army and does not dare to let go of all pursuits. Send the order and let Everyone, please be careful and don't underestimate Murong Bei who doesn't know the art of war."
In the Sui Dynasty, there were many remarks about "the barbarians outside the Great Wall do not know the art of war". Sometimes such remarks were inaccurate, and sometimes they were caused by the thoughts of the Celestial Empire; the nomadic peoples were indeed not as rich and rich in culture as the Chan people. Ruoxinghe's Sui Dynasty did not have the art of war summarized by the sages of the past dynasties.
However, it cannot be said that the Hu army has no merits. It is precisely because they have no art of war that they are often not constrained and restricted by rules and regulations when using troops. So when a fight actually breaks out, you will sometimes find that the generals of the barbarians use unconventional tactics and do not follow common sense, catching you off guard when you are well prepared.
Although some Hu generals who are good at fighting have not systematically studied the art of war, they have accumulated rich combat experience in battles, are very capable of making decisions on the spot, and even have an effective wild approach.
Generals with such wild backgrounds use their troops arbitrarily and without any instructions, which is very troublesome. If they are not careful, even famous generals and marshals will become their stepping stones.
Just like Dou Jiande, he used Yeluzi to kill the famous general Guo Xuan and defeated the famous general Xue Shixiong; Du Fuwei also easily defeated the famous general Chen Leng who recovered the treasure island.
As for Liu Heitai, who was cunning and arrogant in his youth, addicted to alcohol and gambling, he was even more powerful and remarkable. Not only did he defeat Li Shentong and Luo Yi, captured the Xue Wanjun brothers alive, and beheaded Li Daoxuan; even the famous Xu Shiji also Only one person escaped after being beaten by him, and all his subordinates were beaten by him.
Even if Li Shimin went into battle in person, Luo Shixin was killed in the battle of Mingshui. In the end, Liu Heitai ran out of military rations and had to fight Li Shimin with short attacks and long attacks, and then he fell into Li Shimin's water attack plan.
It can be seen that as long as those generals with flexible minds and "ignorance of the art of war" do not die in continuous battles and gain an epiphany, they will be far more difficult to deal with than those who know the art of war.
Although Yang Ji has achieved a series of victories today, these are all based on the general trend of the Sui Dynasty. He used the sword to attack the enemy. Although the sword can gain huge benefits, as long as he makes a wrong step, everything will be ruined. The risk of annihilation.
In the past, it didn't matter, and he would run away if he was defeated. However, as his power grew stronger, he could no longer be so arrogant, so he has been working hard to learn in the direction of "using righteousness and harmony to win by surprise" and strive to form his own "Tao" as soon as possible. ".
Before the "Tao" is formed, it is best to be careful and careful again and again.
Thinking about these things in his mind, Yang Ji was always paying attention to the movements of the enemy camp, and from time to time asked the other party about the scout's patrol route, defense changes, etc.
Yang Ji was not worried about whether these soldiers could adapt to night battles. Along the way, he had almost stayed in daylight and emerged at night. The whole army had become accustomed to marching at night; and everyone's biological clock and mental state were also affected by this march and During the war journey, everything was reversed, and everyone was in the best condition for a night battle.
. . . . . . .
Time passed bit by bit in the silent but rather depressing wait, but Murong Bei felt restless and restless.
This restlessness was due to the pressure from the Sui army on the one hand, and the anomalies from Pugu Chong and Tong Luo Mo on the other.
This evening, he and Pu Guchong observed the information in the watchtower. When he decided to give up the attack on the Western Sui army, he was obviously aware of Pu Guchong's disappointment and anger. After that, he arranged for the spies in Pugu Chong to report: It was Pugu Chong who received the letter from the rebel Qi Bi and then led his soldiers to Dongying to find Tong Luo Mo. This is one of them.
Second, Murong Bei sent people several times to invite Pu Guchong and Tong Luomo to discuss the next military action. However, both of them declined with various reasons. Chong's people came back and said that Pugu Chong was ill.
Pugu Chong came back from Dongying in high spirits not long ago. How could he be sick?
It was obvious that each had different thoughts and ideas.
"Great Khan!" Brother Murong Sheng came in from outside and saluted Murong Bei who was pacing back and forth: "I'm back."
"No need to be polite!" Murong Bei waved his hand and asked anxiously: "How is it? Have you found out the news?"
Murong Sheng shook his head and said solemnly: "The Pugu and Tongluo people have been on guard against our soldiers since dusk. Our people can't get close to their camp. No news has been spread yet. .”
After hesitating for a moment, Murong Sheng suggested: "I think they clearly don't want to fight, why don't we find our own way out?"
Murong Bei frowned and said, "You mean, we took our own soldiers and escaped overnight?"
"Exactly!" Murong Sheng nodded.
Murong Bei shook his head repeatedly: "No! No!"
Murong Sheng asked puzzledly: "Why not?"
"We have Sui troops on three sides, and the east and north are insurmountable mountains; we must break through the Sui troops all the way, and then escape from the encirclement. But our people alone cannot cope with the sharp bows of the Sui troops. It is a hard crossbow, so we must concentrate all our troops and kill them all the way. This will greatly increase the hope of escape and reduce the losses of our army." Murong Bei still has more than 20,000 direct descendants, but these people will be his future foothold. If the East Turkic team loses all its troops during the breakout, what will he do in the future? Therefore, he had to bring the servants and the Tongluo people together to share the Sui army's arrows.
Murong Sheng suddenly said: "I understand."
Murong Bei said in a deep voice: "They are unwilling to come to see me, I will convince them myself!"
"Great Khan, today's servants are at odds with the Tongluo people. I'm afraid they will be unfavorable to the Great Khan." Murong Sheng thought for a while and said, "I will bring someone to accompany you. If anything happens, there will be someone to take care of you."
"That's fine." Although Murong Bei didn't think that Pu Gu and the Tongluo people would be disadvantageous to him in the face of the enemy, he took his own safety very seriously, and the situation was developing in an extremely unfavorable direction; Pu Gu Murong Bei really couldn't predict what Chong He and Luo Mo were thinking.
