"Huh?" Sheng Huaien was stunned: "You think so?"
"Sir, you see, they were a little panicked when they first saw our cavalry, but later calmed down. This shows that this group of people knew that there were not many people behind or they were too far away to help them, so they might as well fight it out.
I don't think there will be a large group of more than a thousand people later. It is estimated that the number of people will only be three to five hundred rats running across the river. I think we can handle it with our number. "
"Oh, no." Sheng Huaien was still nodding after hearing this, and then he said in a blink of an eye, "Isn't it possible that these hundreds of gangsters are just the front, and the brigade is still behind?"
"Since there are guerrilla soldiers patrolling the river defense, even if the number of bandits crossing the river will not be too many." Li Dan thought about it and said:
"We have to cross the river, we have to be inconspicuous, and we have to let the ships go back quickly. He came with 3,000 people, is that enough?"
"Well, we can deal with three thousand people! What's more, we have a car in this mountain. It's hard for them to do it without support."
Sheng Huaien felt a little more confident at this time. He stood up and walked a few steps, looking at the map and thinking again:
"If they are really bandits, why do you think they came here and ventured twenty miles deep? Are they bored fishing by the river?"
Li Dan laughed, and Sheng Huaien smacked his lips and said, "Sanlang, why are you laughing? Are you blaming me for overthinking?"
"On the contrary." Li Dan waved his hand: "Your Excellency, this is called far-sightedness. How could an ordinary person think so much? Dan is glad to have met Your Excellency. You are really like a famous general!"
"Hey, please don't shoot me. I got it from the battle with the Northern Barbarians at the border." Sheng Huai'en smiled bitterly.
"I'm going to say something scary, don't worry, adults." Li Dan looked at Mao Zaidi's back at the tent door, leaned closer and asked softly:
"Don't you think it was Ge Yang who leaked the news and the bandits knew about our route?"
Sheng Huai'en looked at him with his mouth wide open for a long time, covered it up with his beard, and said in a low voice:
"Actually, I had this idea when I first heard about it, but I didn't dare to think about it deeply. How did Saburo guess it?"
"Sir, if they are coming for us, how will they know the team's route and itinerary?"
"Perhaps we met by chance?"
"If they are not here for us, then what is the purpose and intention of the bandits appearing here?"
"That's right!" Sheng Huaien patted his forehead: "Hey, this is really nerve-wracking. I won't think about things that I can't figure out! In any case, whether there is progress or retreat, let's think about what to do tomorrow!"
"I see, tomorrow we need to loosen the outside and tighten the inside."
"Um?"
"Since it is estimated that the number of bandits is not large, we have to do three things: report to Xing'an and Fengqiguan and ask them to step up their guard against bandits;
Send a message to Lin Baihu and ask him to come to us immediately after completing the road repair;
Tomorrow, some of the officers and soldiers will hide their weapons in their coats and go with the team. The younger brother's servants are also ready. When the enemy appears, they can catch him off guard. If the adults lead the team to attack from a pincer, the bandits will be defeated.
This God helps you to make meritorious deeds! "
These words made the president very happy, he put his hand on his beard and nodded with a smile.
The next day, the two of them acted according to the agreement last night. Sheng Huaien called two flag officers and asked them to each lead sixty soldiers, wrapped in armor, each with a cart, and their weapons hidden in In the car, follow Li Dan's orders.
He led more than a hundred people to clear the way, and two general flag officers were at the rear of the team, while the rest were arranged in the center to patrol.
Li Dan also made adjustments to the camp, sending Liu Hongsheng to the end of the team to take charge, with Yang Yi in front. Gu Da, Song Xiaoniu, Song Jiuyi, and Zhang Bo were in the middle, and they were communicating with Ma Jiu.
He talked to these guys about what happened last night in detail, and asked everyone to be prepared for a possible attack, and then went to greet the camp leaders of the other three battalions.
Huang Qin and his archery team all mounted spare mules so that they could respond quickly if something happened.
The large group of people walked eastward along the road, and their walking speed was deliberately slowed down.
As Hei Laosi walked, he squinted his eyes to look at the rising sun and muttered:
"It would be a bit unsightly to go hunting in such good weather. Look at how beautiful the surrounding mountains are, and the pond over there is like a mirror."
"Who would kill someone if nothing happens?" Mr. Ba poked his head out of the carriage and said:
"But what we are transporting is military rations and supplies, so that's different. Especially food. Bandits are also human beings. If they don't eat, they won't have the strength to fight the army, and it's too late to grow crops now.
With these hundreds of thousands of kilograms given to them for free, they should walk through quickly if they don't want to smell the fishy smell. Are you waiting for them to come here?
I don’t know what the team’s rate... defense is thinking! "
"The defense should be to think that the opponent doesn't have many people. If they don't dare to touch us, we will go over. If they dare to touch us, we will chop off a bunch of heads and send them all to Shangrao to collect the reward!"
Zhao Jingzi lay half-lying in the car, closing his eyes and humming.
"I said, you are still a member of the royal family, why can't you take two steps on your own? Look at others' defenses and they are following you!" Master Ba smacked his lips and said:
"I'm half a scholar, and I have the responsibility of guarding the books, so I'm in the car. Why do you always stay here? Besides, how do you know that defense is to lure the enemy?"
"Hey, you guys are not looking around carefully at all. Didn't you notice that there are two people next to many cars?
Those people's eyes and expressions were different from those of ordinary people. You could tell by looking at them that they were soldiers. Their weapons must be hidden in the car next to them! "
He patted his thigh: "I'm not showing off, this is called recharging your energy. If a thief jumps out, the copycat will have to go up!"
Master Ba curled his lips: "We won't tell you until the fight starts, then we will know if you are just talking!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a noise behind him. Zhao Jingzi stood up and said, "Look, a thief is here!"
He picked up the stick and jumped out of the car and ran back. Hei Laosi reached out and pulled out two knives from nowhere and rushed over from the other side of the car.
As soon as the team was in chaos, Li Dan heard it and immediately asked Mao Zaidi to brag twice to call the police. He asked the whole camp to stop and sent two messengers to the front to check.
A long trumpet sounded, and the whole team stood by the road. The horn sounded twice long, and the vehicles were busy unhooking.
Some people tilted the rear of their cars outward, while others immediately took out wooden shields and distributed bamboo spears in preparation for battle.
He rode up to a high slope to observe the situation. The messengers stood behind him and waited for orders. Su Piantou and Han formed a golden flower formation in groups of four or two to guard.
Li Dan became more and more confused as he watched. At this time, a messenger returned: "Defense, it is indeed an enemy attack! There are three or four hundred bandits attacking the right camp. Xiao Ying, the left camp, is asking if he will go to support?"
"Tell him to guard his position and stay still, and at the same time guard against the enemy behind him."
Another messenger quickly returned breathlessly: "Defense, the right battalion is under attack. General Gao is resisting, and a banner of officers and soldiers has also come to support from the rear of the team!"
"What's the situation? Are there any casualties?"
"Two people were dead when I left, and the injured were not counted yet. They rushed out of the residence in the north, and we were unprepared and suffered a bit."
"I said so!" Li Dan suddenly realized that he was standing on a high slope in the north of the road, but the bandits appeared from his right hand.
There were five or six low thatched huts there, but no one expected that they could hide so many people!
"Go to the chief general and ask him to lead people to clear out those houses. I guess the leader of the thieves may still be inside, but after all the people have been sent out, there are not many left.
Then notify Yang Yi that the front team will conduct a ring defense. "After he finished the assignment, he called another messenger:
"Ask Song Zhenfu to lead a search in the direction of Lingyan Temple. If there is any evidence of banditry, report immediately. If nothing happens, ask him to investigate around the temple. The team will soon move to Lingyan Temple."
The third messenger came over. "Ask the deputy of Ma Ying to lead the escort team from behind the convoy to the west. Listen to the horn and launch an attack to cut off the retreat of this group of bandits from the rear!" Send another person:
"Go, let Gu Duizheng and Song Duizheng bring two pieces each. Li Jinhua Formation will attack with me. There will also be an archery team." The messenger who came back after the last step said:
"You are familiar with the road. Make another trip and tell You Ying that Zhou Yingzheng is holding on for a moment longer. We are surrounding the rebels. Then go and ask Hou Ying and Tan Ying Zheng to send four or five people to support You Ying."
Why didn't Li Dan directly let the rear camp hold the west side?
It was because he was worried that the rear camp's combat effectiveness and organizational strength were insufficient. Either they would not be able to inflict pain on the opponent's lower back, or they would be too chaotic to organize an effective attack.
So it would be more appropriate to have Ma Jiu's escort team to do the job. At least the corps commander and chief commander there were from the City God's Temple group.
At this time, Li Dan suddenly felt that something was missing in his hand? After thinking for a long time, it turned out to be a telescope.
Okay, I've written this down. It seems that this thing is quite necessary on the battlefield. It's better than relying solely on sight!
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw an excited Sheng Baozong leading hundreds of soldiers passing down the hillside.
"Haha, brother Ziyuan, I've been waiting for this day!" When he was so happy, his northern accent came out.
"I wish you success! You roll up the flag first, and you can scare them when you get close!" Li Dan put his hand to his mouth and shouted.
Sheng Huai'en seemed to have heard it, and hurriedly asked people to collect the flag, then cupped his hands, and led the troops straight to the residence.
"Tsk, why didn't you think of asking the blacksmith to find an iron sheet to make a shouting microphone?" Li Dan said to himself, took out a small notebook and wrote down these two things with a pencil.
When I finished writing, I looked up and saw that Gu Da and Song Jiuyi arrived with a team and were panting at the foot of the slope. Mao Zaidi rode a flower-green horse, holding Zaoliu in one hand and carrying a Yanling knife in the other.
"A swarm of swarms are coming? This time, let's see how well you can fight!" Li Dan joked as he walked down the slope.
Gu Da was embarrassed: "Defense, can you give me some face in front of the brothers and don't mention this nickname?"
"Ha, I think that's a good nickname. It's cruel and vicious!" Li Dan's words made everyone laugh, and the tension before the war was relieved a lot.
"Brothers, we have a large number of people, and we have the support of the army. If we are still bullied by the bandits, how can we brag to the villagers when we go back? You won't say that I have been running, right?" Everyone laughed again.
Song Jiuyi jumped to his feet and shouted: "We are all from Raozhou, don't be embarrassed, use all the guys you have!"
"Yes, just like what Li Sanlang said just now, we must make them think that we are cruel and vicious, so that they will know who is not easy to bully, right brothers?"
Huang Qin also came, shouting on his horse with his bow raised. Everyone said yes.
So Li Dan told them that he and two groups of guards were leading the way, leaving only Han Si on the left, Su Zheng (Su Xiantou), Gu Da and Song Jiuyi on the right, and everyone worked together to attack the enemy's east flank.
"As soon as the enemy's formation moves, Lao Gu and Lao Song will drive the enemy troops westward. Master Ma Jiu is waiting for them there. At that time, I was the hammer and Master Jiu was the anvil. Let's try to see how good the bandits are.
Once Shanda's people have solved the problem in the village, they will rush down to support you and cut off the bandits' retreat. "
