However, Cao Manqiu (Jiucaozi) soon regretted it, and Shi Dajun's subordinates will always be grateful for his hesitation.
As soon as the team approached the Nanguan City Gate, there were two loud explosions, frightening Shi Dajun's team to a halt.
Then the gong sounded, and they saw the torches on the archery tower were brightly lit from a distance, and groups of officers and soldiers and green shirt troops appeared. Some people were shouting. Shi Dajun saw many nooses thrown out of the grass outside the city on both sides, and some people were holding them in their mouths. Climbing the battlements with weapons in hand.
No wonder the wall was not built higher, it turned out to be for this purpose!
"Captain, let's rush over and kill them, otherwise the people in the city will be surrounded!" someone suggested.
"Shut up, everyone, and retreat!" Shi Dajun was furious: "You are brainless, do you think you can only deal with people in the city?"
Everyone is still stunned. I saw a firework "squeaking" flying high into the sky, and then sharp whistles sounded everywhere, and the ambush stood out. A group of troops turned out to be in the woods on the flank. On the flag were the words "Inspection of the Southern Metropolis".
Li Dan, who was under the banner, was illuminated by two torches and looked particularly tall on the horse. "There are people who arrive here but refuse to go any further. You are so lucky! The general who is leading the team, please come up with your name and number, and let me know who you are?"
"A piece of stone is an army of stones!"
"Oh?" Li Dan looked at the other party in surprise: "I thought you were a rough person, but you turned out to be rough and subtle even if you didn't want to. In that case, how about surrendering me, Li Sanlang?"
"Are you Li Sanlang?" Shi Dajun was also surprised. He looked up and down and snorted unconvincingly: "I'm afraid it won't be easy for you to accept me. You need to win my iron whip first!" After saying that, he came forward. .
Li Dan tilted his head and took a look. Under the firelight, he saw that his pair of iron whips were twisted together like three strands of iron tendons. It looked like they were made with kung fu, and the user must be strong.
He nodded and said, "If I defeat you on horseback, I'm afraid I'll say something dissatisfied. No matter, let's all serve as subordinates. I will never bully you!" He jumped off the horse and moved forward with an iron rod in hand.
When Shi Dajun saw that he was approaching, he stamped his foot and said "Hey", then he used all his strength to strike down left, right and left. Li Dan used the iron tip to gently pull away the whip in his left hand. He took half a step back and suddenly raised the tail of the stick to point directly at his right forearm.
Shi Dajun was taken aback. He held the handle outside, hid himself and twisted his waist. He struck Li Dan's calf with his whip with his left hand, but he blocked it with a clang with the head of the stick. The two of them went back and forth for more than ten rounds, but only half of their weapons touched each other.
Li Dan was secretly surprised. He didn't expect there to be someone with such strength and martial arts in the rebel army.
Shi Dajun was also puzzled. He felt that although Li Sanlang was taller, he didn't even have a full beard. He was clearly still a young man, but somehow his strength and martial arts skills were as good as his own.
While he was distracted, Shi Dajun was forced by Li Dan to take several steps back. He was so anxious that he saw the opportunity and struck with all his strength with both whips. Li Dan connected with each other with his sticks. There was only a "click" sound and the sticks were broken.
Ishibe suddenly cheered. However, Li Dan suddenly realized that he was standing on a high ground and the terrain was superior to his opponent, so he quickly changed his moves.
He danced the two sticks, like a whip, a stick and a knife, but they pointed at the opponent's joints and pain points.
Shi Dajun was hit twice in confusion and screamed in pain. Li Dan hit his pubic area with a stick, causing him to fly up and fall into the pond behind him.
"Save the captain!" someone shouted, and the soldiers from the other side rushed around to stop Li Dan.
At this time, shouts came from the rear, and soldiers and horses were approaching, but Song Xiaoniu saw from a distance at the foot of the mountain the shouts of killing and bursting out of Nanguan after the fire broke out. He felt unbearable, so he brought people to support.
Shi Da's military headquarters was attacked from both front and back, and its leader disappeared, quickly falling into chaos.
When Dong Houyong and Gu Da from Nanguan Pass led their troops to fight out, the army collapsed, and the 500 men from Cao Manqiu's tribe who were sent for reinforcements were also in chaos.
At this time, Jiao Conghu and Douzi Wan (Wan Siyou) who came down from Mian Mountain also arrived respectively, and the overall situation was decided.
Li Dan saw that half of Jiao Conghu's body was covered in blood and asked with a smile: "Old Jiao, are you okay?"
Jiao Baihu laughed loudly: "I haven't fought in a few years, how happy it is!"
"Which one of you
Have you seen the enemy chief Mao Taigong? "
Jiao Conghu pointed at his horse and said, "He has been decapitated! That guy was about to come here, but unexpectedly our troops arrived, and we lost control of the front and rear. Hey, Xie Baozi is gathering his men, and the three bridges are all safe, don't worry !」
"Your Excellency, you have made a meritorious service. This is the head of Dushan Qijia Village, the famous Qu Shuai. Congratulations to me, little brother!"
Li Dan smiled and took advantage of Jiao Conghu's elation to come closer and softly said:
"Brother, you have to work hard. The commander of the bandits has a camp at Ziyang Bridge. The wine trough and the luggage and goods of Mao Taigong's two troops are all left there. The brothers in Mianshan can divide the proceeds among themselves, and there is no need to go through me. "
Jiao Conghu was overjoyed when he heard this. Knowing that Li Dan was sending a favor, he raised his hand and said, "Thank you so much for your kindness, brother!" After saying that, he quickly called two troops from his headquarters and Wansi to head towards Ziyang Bridge.
Li Dan knew that he would not treat Wan Siyou and Xie Baozi's brothers badly. Moreover, if he left under the banner of an official army and showed off his power, the enemy's sentry would know that the battle of the South Gate was definitely lost, and Liaohuazi's military morale would immediately be shaken. .
"Where's that piece of stone just now? Get him out quickly!" Li Dan urged.
However, he immediately heard Song Xiaoniu coming over to report two pieces of news to him: the enemy leader, General Liquor, was not among the group, and some people said they saw hundreds of people running westward!
"Hey! How can we let him run away!" Gu Da jumped up. He had just said that he had not fought enough. There was an enemy running away now, so why not chase him?
"Can you still run? How about replacing Slim King Kong or Yang Yi?" Li Dan teased him.
"That fellow Slender King Kong killed a captain before me. I have to kill a general to earn back my dignity!"
It turned out that Gu Da was jealous of Zhang Bo, so he left all the prisoners to him, and he and Dong Hou went out to Nanguan to encircle and annihilate the enemy's rear troops.
"As for Yang Yi, won't he follow you in the pursuit later? He can't go!" Li Dan and others all laughed.
So Dong Houyong was left to guard the South Gate and South Pass, while Li Dan led Gu Da and Song Xiaoniu to pursue and annihilate the enemies who fled west. ap.
"There is obviously a lot of water in the west, why do you want to escape there? There is something strange here!" Song Xiaoniu was alone for a month, so he also knew how to use his brain.
"It's indeed strange!" Li Dan nodded: "Anyway, it will be difficult for them to escape. Heiyu should have left some manpower in the west. If they want to escape from the river, it won't be that easy!"
Li Dan told everyone, and then ordered two hundred Xiangyong from Diaoshuimen to go to Nanguan to detain the prisoners, and asked Zhang Bo to come out and search for the remaining enemies in this area with Xie Baozi.
"Let's go and chase these enemies back." Li Dan rode on Zao Liu'er and said, "No matter what, we can't let them get away easily after coming to Yugan.
Hit with one punch to avoid hundreds of punches coming. Let’s work harder today to establish this prestige for our descendants and remaining cadres! "
Outside Yufeng Gate (East Gate), Liao Huazi waited impatiently for news from the South Gate, so he ordered his men to climb a big tree to take a look. First I heard that there was a fire in the city, and then I heard the roar of the south gate exploding, which was very lively.
Everyone was overjoyed and came to congratulate him. They all said that it seemed easy to capture Yu Gan now. Although the words may sound useful, after all, they are useless.
After the movement in the south gradually died down, everyone's expressions turned ugly. At this time, although Liaohuazi did not receive any military reports from Jiutaozi, she began to feel that something was not good.
He looked gloomy and depressed. He really couldn't figure out how his good plan could go wrong. Seeing a glimmer of morning light beginning to appear in the east, he knew he couldn't wait any longer.
As soon as I got up, I saw someone coming to report that a team of nearly a thousand people was going to Ziyang Bridge under the banner of the official army!
"It's over!" Someone muttered, and Polygonatum turned around and glared fiercely, although he didn't know exactly who said it.
Cai Shuangwu waved his hand for everyone to leave first, and walked to Liao Huazi without saying a word.
"Let's go, let's go quickly. Go to Egret Harbor and back to Lion Rock!" Polygonum Huazi ordered softly.
"Gao Can's side...?"
"Send someone to tell him to follow him quickly." Tenghuazi sighed secretly in her heart and tried to keep her tone calm: "We still have three thousand troops in hand.
, enough to make a comeback. If these people can't be saved, then... "
"Understood, I will go and deliver the order immediately." Cai Shuangwu frowned slightly, turned around and left, but was stopped again.
"Fifth brother," Liao Huazi called him by his nickname: "Our two families have been friends for two lifetimes. How can it be compared to others?"
"There is no need for the Governor to remind me, and my nephew will be spared. In this way, the Governor will leave first, and my nephew and Gao Can will be behind. We will walk slowly and pretend to be returning to Yuting Town to rest. We will pack up and cross the river as soon as we enter the town..."
"No, just grab whatever you have and retreat immediately without stopping!" Hanako Tate interrupted him.
"But..., most of the boats have been taken away by Captain Tao. If we use the remaining seven or eight boats to ferry people, I'm afraid the speed will be very slow."
"It doesn't matter, you can cross as much as you can!" At this point, Polygonatum suddenly remembered:
"Aren't there still some people in Leijiawan? Send someone to contact them, and then Gao Can can cross the river via Daijiabu, meet up with the people left here by Mao Taigong, and then turn to Wuni Town.
Send people to look for us in the south to see if there are still any of our people, and ask them all to go to Daijiabu! "
Cai Shuangwu felt disgusted in his heart. It seemed that Liaohuazi had lost his fighting spirit and even gave up hope that there were still people of his in the south.
More importantly, he asked Gao Can and others to take the northern route back to Wuni Town, somewhat intending to use them as bait to attract opponents, which made Cai Shuangwu feel very unhappy.
It is true that I have an elder relationship with Polygonum Huazi, but I am also friends with Gao Can and Shi Dajun, and even Shi Dajun was a childhood playmate.
Cai Shuangwu felt very unhappy that Liaohuazi left everyone and only escaped for his own life.
The most inexplicable and irritating thing is Gao Can. He was attracting opponents under the city. He was tired all night and didn't say anything. Why is the noise in the south getting smaller and smaller?
When the people he sent to ask Liaohuazi for instructions came back, they learned that the troops at the east gate had withdrawn. The governor asked him to cut off the rear and retreat towards Daijiabu.
What nonsense is this! Gao Can, who had a good temper, couldn't bear it anymore and kicked Maza over.
"Damn, are you kidding me? We were feinting here and working hard, but in the end he took away the ladder!" He was furious at his confidants.
The henchman's name was Lei Jisheng, a bankrupt businessman. Seeing that he was anxious, he quickly tried to persuade him, and asked his soldiers to drive the people away so that no one could hear him, while he was twirling his beard to think of ideas.
"Captain, don't be anxious. I'm afraid we have to evacuate. Otherwise... we can't really survive by having our tails docked?"
Lei Jisheng held a strategist-like position in Gao Can's army, equivalent to the chief of logistics and staff. His words still had some weight. Gao Can endured it and stopped beside him, leaned over and lowered his voice and said:
"Now that we are the ones left at the end, how can we evacuate so close to the city wall? People will understand as soon as we move. In the blink of an eye, the troops from Yufeng Gate will come out to pursue us. Can you believe it?"
"I believe it." Lei Jisheng smiled bitterly: "If the south really loses, we will have to face Yu Qian's victorious army. And you said that if you move people, they will know that we want to run away. I think they will know if you don't move!"
It’s not easy for us to run now, and it’s not going to be easy if we don’t run. Alas, how could this battle be fought so cowardly? I think in the final analysis, it is still the result of Liaohuazi’s ambition and lack of talent! You can talk a lot of nonsense, but you won't win any battle! "
The two of them were feeling annoyed and had not yet figured out how to retreat. Suddenly I heard the sound of horns on the city, and I hurriedly called someone to ask what was going on.
Someone went to see it and then came back and said that a team had come out of the city and was forming an array. Gao Can was taken aback, thinking that the defenders were about to start a counterattack, so he hurriedly put on his iron helmet and came out to take a look.
There were about five hundred people in the team coming out of Yufeng Gate. The two flags had the characters "Zhao" and "Yang" written on them respectively, but they were Zhao Jingzi and Yang Yi. There was a horse beside them, and they were sitting on it. Tu Shan was captured and surrendered.
"Can you really convince Gao Can to surrender?" Yang Yi was a little doubtful.
"Brother Tu is confident anyway, right?" Zhao Jingzi looked at Tu Shan with a smile.
"I'll give it my best try." Tushan clasped his fists and said, "This Gao Can is actually a pretty good person, loyal and trustworthy. He just took over the position of the head of the family.
He had not yet settled down firmly, and he had to obey under the intimidation of Polygonum's soldiers, so he took over the position of captain.
Usually, the military council rarely talks, and he does whatever he is told to do. We all jokingly call him "Tall Wood", but he doesn't get upset when he hears it. "
"Well, that means he probably has no loyalty to Tatehanako. So what does he like and what are his hobbies?"
The team formed a formation and began to move towards Gao Can. Yang Yi asked again: "For example, money, women, delicious food, and even power. He must have some preferences, right?"
"This... I really can't think of it." Tu Shan patted the back of his neck in embarrassment:
"I do know that he collects swords, but do you also know how many good weapons you can see in the lake? Occasionally, there will be one that catches your eye. It is said that he will pay a high price to find someone to exchange for it, and he even had a conflict with the wine trough because of this.
But he was a direct line general, so he had no choice but to give the knife he had to the wine trough. It is said that he even made an apology to him, which cost him a full one hundred taels! "
"Oh?" Zhao Jingzi and Yang Yi looked at each other and said, "He is quite tolerant. I'm afraid he won't be kind if he leaves it to others."
As they spoke, the team was already very close. Over there, Gao Can also gathered 500 people in formation and came towards them. For a moment, the two armies on the city's Hao side outside the northeast wall were separated by a hundred steps, facing each other and staring at each other. The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"I'm coming over!" Tu Shan looked at the two of them, and seeing them nodding, he kicked his horse forward, followed by two soldiers running behind him.
When passing by Zhao and Yang, Zhou Tu, who was wearing an ordinary green shirt uniform, turned back and smiled at them.
When Gao Can saw the person coming from the other side, he seemed to be stunned for a moment, and made an explanation to Lei Jisheng. Then he also rode forward with two soldiers, stood face to face, and held his hands on the horse: "Brother Tu, I haven't seen you for a few days. Are you okay?"
