Han Zhen's expression remained normal and he ordered: "Call him in."
After a while, a soldier came in.
The person who came was none other than Yu Jun. After the army was expanded some time ago, he was promoted to team leader because of his outstanding performance.
He was sent by Han Zhen to protect the caravan two days ago.
Han Zhen said, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."
Yu Jun clasped his fists and said, "Report to the county magistrate, I arrived in Qiancheng County the day before yesterday and was supposed to come back the next day, but the pig iron has not arrived yet. Zhu Yuanwai decided to wait another day. Who would have thought that the Chi Army would suddenly attack last night? At daybreak, Wudu saw that the situation was not good, so he took the initiative to break out and asked me to come back to report the news."
Han Zhen nodded secretly in his heart. Xiao Wu was right in his judgment and it was right to break out and report the news.
Zhao Ting now clearly only wants to defend Yidu County. As for the life and death of other counties and towns, he doesn't care at all.
Zizhou next door is even less likely to send troops to help, because Li Heihu of Jinan Prefecture is now very powerful. Once troops are sent, there is no guarantee that even Zizhou will fall.
"How many people are there in the Dare Chi Army?"
"No less than six thousand!"
Han Zhen asked again: "How many guards are there in the county?"
Yu Jun replied: "There are about 600 archers, government officials and recruited local warriors, plus ten small teams including me."
Hearing this, Han Zhen fell into deep thought.
There is a saying in the art of war: surround it ten times.
Qiancheng County has nearly 800 defenders, and it is almost impossible for the 6,000 dare to attack the county.
Even if Zhang Wanxian sends reinforcements, they will not be able to capture it for a while.
Seeing this, Yu Jun looked anxious and said: "County Magistrate, let's hurry up and rush for reinforcements. According to Qiancheng County Magistrate, there are a hundred thousand Daangchi troops. If we continue to delay, when their reinforcements arrive, the county will definitely be breached."
Han Zhen glanced at him and said coldly: "You already said that there are 100,000 Daanchi troops. After we send out troops, what if Zhang Wanxian sends troops to attack Linzi County?"
"This... is the last thing I thought about."
Yu Jun scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
He really didn't think about this.
Then, he bravely asked: "County Magistrate, can Qiancheng County save you?"
"save!"
Han Zhen was decisive.
Qiancheng County will definitely be saved. In addition to the caravan and twelve squads of soldiers, there are also 10,000 shi of grain, thousands of kilograms of pig iron and other supplies.
Han Zhen asked: "How are the equipment of the five thousand dare-chi army? How many horses are there?"
"Except for a few bandit leaders wearing leather armor, the rest are almost the same as the bandit soldiers. The weapons are also varied, most of them are plain knives and hatchets, and some even hold sharpened bamboo poles. There are no war horses, but there are hundreds of rogue and inferior horses. Come on." Yu Jun recalled.
Speaking of which, I have to thank those corrupt officials who have embezzled all the funds allocated to the arsenals of various counties and towns.
As a result, all the county arsenals were left with was a pile of junk. Even if these rebels captured the county, they would not be able to find any good weapons.
Han Zhen stood up and said: "Go back to the military camp first and pass on my order to Nie Dong to organize the army!"
"Got the order!"
Yu Jun clasped his fists in response and left in a hurry.
After explaining some more tasks to the scribes, Han Zhen stepped out of Bo Hall.
As soon as he walked out of Bo Hall, he ran into Chang Zhixian who was rushing over.
He also got the news, and now he looked anxious and asked: "How is Han Erlang doing?"
Changzhi County was torn in his heart. He wanted to save his brother-in-law, but he was afraid that as soon as Han Zhen left, Dare Chi's army would attack him.
"Don't worry, I have my own arrangements!"
After Han Zhen comforted him, he hurried out of the county office.
Watching his leaving figure, Chang Zhixian felt a sense of absurdity in his heart.
He, a court official, relied on a rebellious bandit for protection time and time again.
Things are really unpredictable!
Quickly returning to his house, the housekeeper in the concierge immediately stood up and said, "Alang."
"Bring me my horse!"
Leaving these words behind, Han Zhen walked through the hanging flower door and came all the way to the backyard.
In the backyard, Mrs. Han Zhang and her maid were sitting under the shade of a tree, sewing clothes.
The moisturizing in the past few days made her look more hydrated.
The skin was white and rosy, as if it would ooze out of water with just a pinch.
The whole person exudes a unique aura of a young woman, coupled with the aura of innocence between her eyebrows, which is both pure and lustful.
Seeing Han Zhen come back in a hurry, Han Zhang stopped his movements and asked curiously: "How come Erlang is back so early today."
"Um."
Han Zhen nodded and stepped into the back room.
Seeing this scene, Han Zhang immediately felt a bad feeling in her heart.
She put down her sewing and hurriedly followed into the main room.
In the room, Han Zhen was putting on bamboo armor on his body.
Biting her lip gently, Han Zhang asked with a worried look: "Is Erlang going out again?"
"Well, Run Niang can stay at home peacefully. I'll be right back!"
Han Zhen quickly put on his bamboo armor and then picked up the black horse.
Mrs. Han and Zhang wanted to persuade her, but she knew her uncle's temperament, so she had no choice but to warn him: "Erlang, you must take care of yourself!"
"I will."
After leaving these words, Han Zhen left in a hurry.
The steward had already brought his war horse. After getting on his horse, he left the county town and ran towards the military camp.
In the military camp, Nie Dong has finished organizing his army.
More than five hundred infantry, plus thirty-six cavalry, stood on the school grounds fully armed.
Seeing Han Zhen speeding towards him, everyone's eyes fell on him.
Riding on the horse, Han Zhen ordered condescendingly: "Zhang He!"
"The general is here!"
Zhang He immediately stepped forward and responded loudly.
"You are now ordered to lead the infantry to station in the county town and seal the city gate. Before I come back, if the county town is captured by thieves, I have no choice but to ask!"
"Got the order!"
Zhang He roared and felt his heart surge.
When Zhang He left with more than 520 infantry, Han Zhen looked at the cavalry.
Among the thirty-six cavalrymen, except for the seventeen Western troops including Nie Dong, the rest were all elites selected from the army.
Each one is strong and courageous.
Although the monthly salary is the same, the weapons used are the best.
Whenever the Xiaowang Village Blacksmith Shop forges weapons, it always comes first with the cavalry, and then with the infantry.
Even wearing bamboo armor, he exuded a strong aura.
Looking around, Han Zhen spoke slowly: "Right now, the caravan and more than a hundred brothers are trapped in Qiancheng County. There are five thousand enemies. Do you dare to come with me to help?"
Thirty-six and five thousand!
A quantitative difference of more than a hundred times.
"dare!"
Thirty-six people roared together.
The huge roar echoed in the military camp, causing the birds and beasts in the mountains to fly in all directions.
Nie Dong's face was flushed at this moment, and he felt like his blood was boiling all over his body.
It's coming, it's coming, the opportunity to defeat thousands of enemies with a hundred horses is finally here!
"good!"
Han Zhen nodded with satisfaction, then smiled contemptuously: "The enemy is a group of farmers who were carrying hoes a few days ago. They have no armor or crossbows. All you need to do is follow me and charge into the battle to kill the enemy. Do you understand?"
"clear!"
The cavalry roared again.
"Attack!"
Han Zhen tightened the reins, turned the horse's head, and led the way out of the military camp.
Qiancheng County is less than a hundred miles away from Linzi County. Since Zhang Wanxian can attack Qiancheng County, it means that he can also attack Linzi.
This is why Han Zhen was worried that the Ganchi Army might take the opportunity to attack Linzi.
On the official road, nearly a hundred horses galloped past, rolling up waves of loess along the way.
In ancient times, the speed of cavalry attacks was not as fast as expected. If one person rode two horses and took turns changing horses, they could travel up to three hundred miles in a day and night.
But after running three hundred miles day and night, the war horse was basically useless.
"New Book of Tang·Biography of Su Dingfang": Dingfang selected tens of thousands of elite soldiers and mounted three thousand to attack him, and galloped three hundred miles day and night to reach his location. Duman was frightened and had no fighting skills, so he was defeated and fled to protect the city.
Because cavalry has to carry weight, a cavalryman only weighs one hundred and fifty kilograms. Counting armor, weapons, dry food, etc., it is less than two hundred kilograms.
Under normal circumstances, carrying a cavalryman to cover twenty miles in an hour is the limit of a war horse.
No matter how fast, the war horse can no longer bear it.
And every hour, you need to stop, let the war horse rest for a while, and feed some refined grains and salt water to replenish its strength.
Even so, the cavalry could not fight immediately after arriving at their destination.
A few nights ago, there was a big battle outside Licheng County. The reason why the elite Xingde Army led by Xing Wanli was defeated so quickly was because they did not have enough time to rest and rush to fight after marching in a hurry.
Not only did the soldiers have no strength, but the horses also had no strength. They couldn't even run, so how could they charge?
Is there any way to enable the cavalry to fight as soon as they arrive on the battlefield?
have!
Just like Han Zhen, one person and three horses.
A war horse, a pack horse, and a walking horse.
When marching, one rides a walking horse, and all the baggage such as bamboo armor, weapons, etc. are placed on the pack horse, and the war horse does not bear any weight.
After approaching the battlefield, you can immediately fight by wearing armor, holding soldiers, and riding horses.
War horses are difficult to obtain, but there is no shortage of walking horses and pack horses. As long as you have money, you can buy not to mention hundreds of horses, even tens of thousands.
They set off at three quarters in the morning, and when they approached Qiancheng County, it was already evening.
…
…
The setting sun was like blood, coating the already tragic battlefield with a layer of blood.
"Kill!"
"Kill the dog officer and steal money and food!"
"Hold it, hold it!"
"Tou, we've run out of arrows!"
Cries of death, wails, roars... countless sounds mixed together, echoing above the county town.
The weapons of the Gan Chi Army were very poor, but the archers who defended the city were not much better.
The arsenal in the county has long been dilapidated, and there are not even ten usable weapons left, so that many village warriors only have water and fire sticks in one hand and kitchen knives in the other.
The twelve squads led by Xiao Wu became the main force in defending the city.
After all, Qiancheng County is a small county with only two east and west gates. After dividing the troops, they can barely hold it.
At this moment, Xiao Wu was leading twelve groups of soldiers, plus two hundred Xiangyong, guarding the east city gate.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The heavy impact echoed in everyone's ears.
At the city gate, dozens of daredevil soldiers carried a thick log wrapped in iron and kept hitting the city gate.
The two city gates were knocked inwards and were dented. If it weren't for the thousand-pound gate holding up behind the gates, the gates would have been knocked down.
At the same time, more and more dare to climb up the wooden ladder.
Suddenly, a dare to Chijun climbed up quickly, and slashed the neck of a Xiangyong with a simple knife in his hand.
"ah!!!"
Xiang Yong covered his neck and let out a shrill howl.
Blood spurted out on his face, and the soldier laughed ferociously, like a bloodthirsty beast.
At this time, a big foot kicked.
This kick was so powerful that it directly knocked the dare Chijun soldiers off the city wall.
boom!
After falling from the five-meter-high city wall, the soldier survived for a while, and his right leg was twisted at a weird angle.
Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and he let out bursts of wailing.
This scene is just a microcosm of the entire battlefield.
On the city tower, Xiao Wu killed a daredevil with a sword and shouted loudly: "Chen Dutou, have you sent the arrows?"
Hearing this, Chen Dutou gave a wry smile: "There are no arrows left, the arsenal only has so much, they will be gone when used up!"
He is the captain of Qiancheng County, leading the local warriors to assist Xiaowu in defending the city.
Xiao Wu cursed angrily: "Damn it, these dog officials are only greedy for money!"
How could he not be angry that there were less than 800 arrows in one county?
At this time, a soldier shouted: "There are no more stones in Wudutou!"
While they were talking, more than a dozen dare to climb up the city wall.
Xiao Wu rushed forward with his sword, relying on the bamboo armor on his body, he slashed with the Phoenix Eye Saber in his hand.
After dealing with the rushing Gan Chi Army, he yelled: "Where's the golden juice? Is it ready?"
"OK OK!"
Xiang Yong, who was responsible for boiling the golden juice in the rear, responded repeatedly.
Xiao Wu greeted: "Hurry up and push it!"
The next moment, five small carts containing large tanks were pushed to the city wall and fell towards the Gan Chi Army on the wooden ladder below.
Golden juice is excrement, urine and excrement water. After this stuff is boiled, it can burn people's skin to the point of ripping open their flesh.
Moreover, gold juice is full of bacteria and germs. In this era of backward medical conditions, once you are drenched in gold juice, you will definitely die.
"Ahhhh!!!"
As the golden juice poured out, bursts of painful howls immediately came from under the city wall.
After a round of golden juice was poured, taking advantage of this gap, the dare Chi army below launched another offensive.
The stones, arrows and even the gold juice were all used up, and they could only watch helplessly as the enemy climbed up and engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
"Brothers, hold on!"
Xiao Wu encouraged him, raised his knife and rushed towards a dare to Chijun.
"Da da da!"
Suddenly, a rapid sound of horse hooves came from the distance.
Xiao Wu was stunned at first.
Immediately afterwards, thirty-seven cavalry were seen rushing out from the end of the official road in the distance.
The leader was a tall man, holding a horse spear. The five armor-piercing swords behind him reflected bursts of cold light in the setting sun.
"The county magistrate is here!"
(End of chapter)
