The war progressed smoothly. Wu Ping's army in the westward expedition to Dongxi soon received its first exciting result. After the 10,000 vanguard troops led by Liu Jiangsheng and Luo Erhu arrived at Linyuan City, the Dongxi barbarians were basically There was no time to prepare, and there were only a few thousand defenders. As a result, in less than half a day, the Wuping army conquered the city gate with a crushing force. With minimal casualties, almost all the barbarians were wiped out, and the defender Tian Siyuan was captured alive.
On the night of July 14th, the army led by Li Yuan arrived at Linyuan City and merged with the vanguard army to form a main force of more than 30,000 troops. After resting for two days and waiting for all the baggage to arrive, the army set off to cross to You west on the 16th. Water, drive towards Xizhou.
After crossing the You River, there were continuous mountains, dense forests and ravines, the roads were muddy and difficult to navigate, and the army's advance was obviously slow.
It is the scorching heat of midsummer, and the weather in the mountains is unpredictable. Suddenly the sun shines brightly, then dark clouds drift over, and a shower of rain falls suddenly, which catches people off guard.
Among the lush forests and grass all over the mountains and plains, the mosquitoes and venomous snakes that inhabited here also went crazy and continued to harass them. In addition, the roars of wild beasts could be heard from time to time. The entire army was tortured and entered an extremely nervous state. In such a state, he was even breathing a lot faster while moving forward cautiously.
The accident soon came as expected. During this period, Li Yuan's army arrived at the junction of mountains and met a small mountain stream unexpectedly. Seeing the clear water in the stream, more than a hundred soldiers who were suffering from the scorching heat while taking a break couldn't help but be tempted to put their hands into the water. The cold feeling instantly spread from the fingertips to their hearts, and they seemed to be very happy, and then they plucked up their courage. He went into the water shirtless, but a moment later he fell to the ground with a black face and lost consciousness, and soon his head was completely cold.
After receiving the report, Li Yuan personally led Peng Shiyu and the accompanying medical officer for inspection. Peng Shiyu and his bodyguards recognized at a glance that this was the "miasma water" that could be seen everywhere in Dongxi. The seemingly clear stream actually contained dense and highly poisonous water. If you reach out to calamus, you may be contaminated with toxins, not to mention if you plunge your whole body into it, you will undoubtedly put yourself to death and be reborn.
On July 19, the army finally reached a mountainous area that was barely open. According to the topographic map drawn by Peng Shiyu, in front of it was the long and narrow ancient road leading to Xizhou City. Seeing this, Li Yuan decisively ordered the entire army to set up camp on the spot. To rest and recuperate, as we are about to enter dangerous territory, we must summon all the generals to discuss to make complete preparations.
At night, Wu Ping's army had set up a large camp stretching for several miles in the undulating mountains. Within a radius of more than ten miles, Li Yuan also sent out scouts in all directions to patrol and set up numerous warnings at key points in the camp. point to prevent a sudden attack by the Dongxi barbarians.
Scout Shen Hong, who had performed outstandingly in the First World War in Shouzhou, has now received a new mission. He led more than a hundred skilled soldiers together with Peng Shiyu's personal guards to first follow the ancient road to the direction of Xizhou for reconnaissance. Although they have not encountered barbarian soldiers in the past few days, Linyuan City has been conquered, and Chai Kewu is also leading the army to attack Chenzhou City. Tian Hongyou should have received his revenge, and he must be prepared and will never sit still and wait for death.
Li Yuan's commander's tent was brightly lit with candles, and all the senior generals of the army had gathered. Including Peng Shiyu, there were more than thirty generals sitting high and low. The expressions of the generals were almost all extremely serious. After all, they were going deep into a barren land and witnessed too many dangers along the way. There would be another bloody battle next, so they had to be nervous.
Li Yuan was calm and composed. After waving his hands for the soldiers to cook the specially brought tea, he called the generals to look at a temporary combat sandbox set up in the tent.
Due to the silence of the generals, Li Yuan had no choice but to smile and speak first: "Look, everyone, as long as we successfully pass through the ancient mountain road ahead, our army can reach the Xizhou City. All the siege equipment is ready, and the army If we are surrounded on all sides, Tian Hong will be waiting for death! You can speak freely about your opinions on the siege!"
Then he turned his gaze to Peng Shiyu with a dull expression and said: "Brother Peng, you are from Xizhou and you know the situation here best. Why don't you give your opinion first?"
Peng Shiyu quickly raised his head, cupped his hands and responded: "Commander, Xizhou City has been managed by my Peng family for three generations. The city is tall and strong, and it is surrounded by dense forests. Tian Hong has no less than 30,000 soldiers in his right hand. If our army attacks the city, Don't take it lightly... But with the commander's elite soldiers and those trebuchets, Xizhou City will definitely not be able to defend it for long. However, I always feel that something is fishy, but I don't dare to speak randomly... ..”
Li Yuan frowned slightly, and then asked with interest: "Oh? If Brother Peng has other ideas, you can speak up. I have already said it, speak freely."
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Seeing the puzzled looks cast by the generals, Peng Shiyu hesitated for a moment and then continued: "Commander, although Tian Hongyou is not good at military affairs, most of the generals under his command are powerful generals who have followed my grandfather for many years. In the past, Ma Xifan's Chu army was attacked by my grandfather as soon as they crossed the You River, let alone reaching the ancient road here!
This time our army marched all the way west. Although I had my subordinates to guide me, I didn't encounter even a single soldier from Dongxi along the way. I successfully set up camp in front of the ancient road and saw that the attack on the city was imminent.
It stands to reason that since the battle in Linyuan City, Tian Hongyou should have made full preparations to rely on the good terrain to resist attacks on our army. This is also the consistent tactics of our Dongxi tribe, not to mention the previous battle in Jiashan. I have experienced how powerful the commander is! But now it is silent, almost sitting and waiting for death, which is really suspicious. "
"According to Brother Peng's wishes, Tian Hongyou intends to bring our army in? Could it be that an ambush has been set up in the mountains and forests ahead?"
Peng Shiyu said solemnly: "I don't know! If Tian Hong wants to set up an ambush, the mountains and forests ahead are not suitable. The terrain is flat and the trees and grass are sparse. How can we stop our cavalry from charging into the formation? The best time is to take advantage of me. It would be appropriate to launch a surprise attack when the army crosses the You River.
We, the Dongxi people, are lagging behind in equipment and have always been extremely cautious in fighting. Even if we have superior strength, we will never confront the enemy head-on. However, at this time, Xizhou City is so close that it may be too late to set up an ambush. Therefore, I really can’t figure out Tian Hongyou’s intention, so why don’t we wait for the scout’s investigation report before we can discuss it..."
Li Yuan nodded slightly, looked around the generals and said, "Everyone, I can hear Brother Peng's meaning clearly. What do you think?"
The generals were silent and meditating. I have to say that what Peng Shiyu, the young master of Xizhou, said was somewhat reasonable. The Dongxi barbarians had long been known for being good at sneak attacks. Although they were not ambushed along the way, what happened to the soldiers? Aren't you proceeding cautiously with the mentality of being in vain? Even though they have successfully set up camp on the ancient road, they followed Li Yuan's instructions and set up sentries around the camp, patrolling with open fires to guard against barbarian raids. The blow darts in their hands were very vicious.
There was silence in the tent. At this time, Luo Erhu suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Commander, I don't think there is anything to be afraid of! Peng Cishi is right. Xizhou City is now in front of us, regardless of whether Tian Hong sets his sights or not. Ambush, it's too late!
Our army has so many soldiers and horses, so we will set out as usual tomorrow. Our equipment is much better than the enemy's. If he really dares to set up an ambush in the mountains and forests, we will fight him as usual! It’s ridiculous to see how worried you all are..."
The generals were a little stunned, and Peng Shiyu immediately frowned and said: "Luo Du, this is not a question of whether you are afraid or not. If it is a head-on confrontation, of course our army will have the upper hand! Now what we are worried about is what unexpected and strange behavior Tian Hong will do. Means, after all, this is where the Dongxi people grew up, and even my grandfather has never seen some of the means. If I encounter them, I'm afraid I won't be able to do anything about them."
Luo Erhu was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "What method was used? In addition to blowing arrows, could it be possible to release a few ferocious tigers?"
The generals looked at Luo Erhu speechlessly, but Peng Shiyu replied with a serious face: "Don't say it yet, it's really possible! When I was a child, I saw with my own eyes that the people of the Wuxi Xiang clan could drive tigers and wolves, and their company length was about two or three feet. All big snakes can be trained..."
"This..." Luo Erhu stopped talking and just swallowed hard. Together with the generals, they all showed incredible expressions. After whispering for a while, they fixed their eyes on coach Li On the source.
Li Yuan shook his head gloomily and said calmly: "Whether it's a snake or a tiger, now that our army has arrived here, there is no turning back! Remember, as a general, a soldier's life or death can be determined by a single thought. Don't be reckless or cowardly, otherwise half the battle will be lost before it even begins!
As Governor Peng said, we need to be vigilant and not underestimate the enemy, but we must not damage our morale. Now that our discussions are fruitless, we can just wait for the scouts to report back! From this moment on, anyone below me who shakes the morale of the army will be killed without mercy! "
All the generals hurriedly raised their hands and said in unison: "General, I will obey your order!"
