It was dusk, and only half of the setting sun was left behind the mountains in the distance. Shao Xi, the soldiers and horses from Shanling and Wuyang counties finally arrived at the predetermined location. This was a dense forest on the south side of Yujiang City's Nanshan Mountain. There were more than three thousand soldiers and horses from the two counties in total, densely hidden in the woods.
After Shao Xi settled the soldiers and horses of the two counties, he set off towards the east side of Nanshan. If nothing unexpected happened, Sun Jue should be lurking there with his troops and horses, waiting for news from Shao Xi.
For the sake of convenience, Shao Xi did not ride any more, but used the "Qingping Ferry" to rush all the way to the east where Sun Jue's troops were. As soon as they met, Sun Jue ran up and saluted Shao Xi.
"Master Shao, you are finally back. We have been restless all day. We were afraid that something might go wrong with the secondment of troops. Now that we see you coming back smoothly, the stone in our hearts has finally fallen to the ground."
Shao Xi waved his hand and said there was no need to be polite. It was more important to talk about business at this time.
"You will now send out the messengers. Each one will bring a roll of Nanshan's troop deployment map, and notify the three counties to mobilize at the right time. Seventy percent of the troops and horses will be used to encircle and suppress the enemy troops in various locations shown on the map, and the other 30% will be sent out. The troops and horses were deployed in roundabout ways to prevent the enemy armies from responding to each other, and also to prevent them from breaking up and fleeing south, so that each county must act according to the plan and orders."
Without saying anything, Sun Jue immediately sent someone down to arrange for the messenger to deliver the letter.
Shao Xi looked at the map placed on the stone and asked Sun Jue casually: "How many soldiers and horses did Mr. Sun bring out this time? How many soldiers and horses do Mo Zhaohui and Pan Sheng have in the city?"
"Back to your lord, the total number of soldiers and horses in the county was originally 3,500. This time, the official brought out 2,000. The other 1,500 have been brought back to the city and arranged according to your previous instructions. They can be moved at any time according to the order. Yes. With Mo Zhaohui and Pan Sheng here, whether it is besieging the rebel army or capturing members of the Zhao family, we can take action at any time with just an order from my lord."
Shao Xi nodded, "You have two thousand here, and the two counties of Shanling and Wuyang total more than three thousand. We will know how many troops Liantai County has sent this time when the messenger comes back. But for now, it seems that it should be That's enough. When can Old Wu get here?"
"I have asked Mo Zhaohui and Pan Sheng to inform Mr. Wu after they return to the city. I think Mr. Wu should be on his way here at this time."
Shao Xi nodded again. His idea was not complicated. According to the Nanshan troop deployment map, the enemy troops were stationed in four places. The locations of these four places happened to be arranged at the four corners of the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. The army where the armor was stored was The warehouse is located in the very center of these four garrison locations, so that soldiers and horses from all over the place can be picked up at any time.
Shao Xi's idea is that the enemy in the northeast corner will be surrounded and suppressed by Sun Jue with troops and horses, the enemy in the northwest corner will be surrounded and suppressed by soldiers and horses from Liantai County, and the soldiers and horses from Shanling and Wuyang counties will surround and suppress the southeast and southwest respectively. Enemy troops in two places. During this period, 30% of the troops dispatched were interspersed among the four soldiers and horses, so that the head and tail could not see each other, and the encirclement was broken up one by one.
What needs to be done before that is to sneak into Nanshan and control its arsenal so that the soldiers and horses everywhere cannot pick up their armor. This will greatly weaken the enemy's combat power and make the encirclement and suppression smoother.
But if you want to sneak into Nanshan, the number of people should be as small as possible to avoid being discovered by the enemy. But the question is, how to control the arsenal when there are few people? This is a war, a confrontation between two armies, not a small fight in the martial arts world. No matter how good Shao Xi's martial arts skills are, he does not dare to think arrogantly that he can stop thousands of troops with his own strength when facing a large number of troops. So at this time What worries him most is what should he and Lao Wu do after they arrive at the military depot?
"Master Sun, if this armor is burned, is there still a chance to repair it?"
"Although it can be repaired, it is extremely difficult to repair. If only the leather ropes lining the armor are burned, then the armor can be re-pierced after collecting and cleaning the armor pieces. However, if the fire is too strong and the burning is too long, then The armor will be destroyed, and the armor will have to be forged again to make new armor, which is equivalent to making it all over again."
Shao Xi felt distressed for a while after hearing this. It was estimated that there were more than two thousand sets of armor stored in the arsenal. If all of them could be preserved, it would be a great improvement to Yujiang County's armaments. But now there is really no good way to keep these armors without being used by private armies. Otherwise, burning down the general treasury would be the end of it.
When Sun Jue heard Shao Xi ask these questions, he knew that Shao Xi was planning this batch of armors. At the same time, he also saw that Shao Xi had concerns. As a person who leads troops all year round, he must be better than Shao Xi in some aspects. For Sun Jue has his own opinion on this matter.
"Your Excellency, you must be reluctant to burn the thousands of armors in this arsenal, right? You must be thinking that if these armors are used to equip the soldiers and horses of my Yujiang County, they will definitely create an elite force, Your Excellency. But this idea?”
Shao Xi nodded and said with some regret: "It's a pity that not too many people can infiltrate, and the requirements for body and martial arts are too high to transport these armors out. The only way I can think of at the moment is to burn them with fire. But as you just said, the armor that was burned by the fire is basically scrapped, which is really a pity, but I can't think of any other way at the moment."
When Sun Jue heard what Shao Xi said, he said to Shao Xi with a proud look on his face: "Your Excellency, you have really underestimated me, Sun Jue. Although the requirements for sergeants in marching and fighting are not as high as those of you martial arts masters, they are very demanding." There is perfect cooperation, and orders and prohibitions are followed. Sir, please do not think that only those with high martial arts skills and small numbers can do this stealth thing. Of the two thousand soldiers and horses left by Xianguan today, 500 are elite soldiers trained by Xianguan himself. , what we are best at is sneaking and night raids, why not select a hundred people and assign them to your Excellency, who will lead you to secretly sneak into the arsenal of the Nanshan Bandit Army. It should not be a problem for these 100 people and you to guard the arsenal together. I, the soldiers of the four counties, The horse stepped up the siege, thinking that the bandit army did not have much energy to besiege the arsenal. Your Excellency only needs to lead these one hundred people to stand firm and wait for reinforcements, so that this batch of armor and ordnance can be preserved for the use of our army."
It seemed reasonable to Shao Xi. Sun Jue was already better at marching and fighting than he was. Besides, sneak attacks at night were also commonly used by military strategists, and those who could do this kind of work were basically elites. It seemed that his knowledge was shallow. .
"In that case, let's do it according to Mr. Sun's ideas! I thought things were too simple before. It seems that I still need to consult Mr. Sun more about the march and formation!"
"Your Excellency, thank you. This is your official responsibility. Your Excellency lives in a temple and travels around the world. It is normal that you are not very familiar with military matters. It is your honor for me to give you advice. Since your Excellency, If I agree with the official’s idea, then the official will go and rectify the troops and mobilize the one hundred elites to be commanded by your Excellency.”
"Well, it seems that the sky is getting darker now. After the troops and horses are organized, we will set off as soon as possible when Old Wu arrives."
As soon as Shao Xi mentioned Lao Wu, he didn't want to talk about Cao Cao, but Cao Cao was here. I saw Lao Wu rushing over panting. It seemed that he was rushing all the way. I don't know what happened?
After saying hello, Sun Jue went to prepare his troops and horses. Only then did Shao Xi find time to ask Lao Wu about the situation in the city.
"How is it? Is there any movement in the city on the day I disappeared? The people sent by the Zhao family to assassinate me did not come back to report the news, but they also sent people to the yarn shop in Yushui Town to inquire about the news?"
Lao Wu sat down on the stone next to him with some breathlessness. Without replying to Shao Xi's words, he first took off the wine bottle from his waist and started drinking. It seemed that he must be in such a hurry because of something urgent. , Shao Xi couldn't help but feel a little worried.
After finishing a few sips of wine, Old Wu raised his sleeves and wiped his mouth, and said to Shao Xi: "It's more than just sending people to find out the news! At dawn, they sent people to Yushui just before the city gate was opened. Town, but after waiting for most of the day, the person who inquired about the information did not come back. In the afternoon, more than a dozen people were sent out. I guess this trip was definitely not to inquire about the information. I don’t know if the little girl is in the yarn shop? I'm really worried about an accident. You are too, after all the planning, why didn't you take this step into consideration? If something happens to a girl who is left alone in the gauze workshop, will you be worthy of your little master? "
Shao Xi was also shocked when he heard this. He originally thought that the Zhao family would not act rashly when they saw that he was missing, and would just wait and see. After all, the more they did, the more flaws would be exposed.
But now it seems that the Zhao family has made a desperate move, regardless of the consequences, and is bound to take his life. But I am not in the gauze shop, leaving only the gauze girl and Gao Guang in the gauze shop. How should I deal with such a situation? After all, Gao Guang was still injured.
The people sent out by the Zhao family early in the morning did not come back until the afternoon. Shao Xi could guess why. It seemed that Gao Guang had already made his choice. But later this group sent more than a dozen people over. How should Gao Guang respond with injuries on his body?
Shao Xi knew very well that it was difficult for two fists to defeat four hands. What's more, when Gao Guang was injured, a dozen people would definitely fall into a deadly battle. He didn't know what the final result would be?
Thinking of this, Shao Xi couldn't help but feel his heart in his throat again.
But it is useless to worry now. After all, there are more important things to do. I can only hope that they can survive this disaster.
Just when Shao Xi and Lao Wu were waiting for Sun Jue to order all the troops and lead the one hundred elites to sneak attack on the army depot, Zhao Huajun in Yujiang City was already furious and was pointing at Gao Can and yelling.
"Waste! What's the use of the Zhao family raising you for so many years? You can't even handle this. Haven't you always boasted about your intelligence? Why didn't you find out that Shao Xi actually had martial arts? This operation was your fault. You also hired the planning and manpower, and now you have sent them all out, but the result is that they are just meat buns beating dogs, and they never come back, and there is not even a message, what the hell can you do?"
Gao Can was already sweating, but he still forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation. Since none of the people he sent came back, it means that Shao Xi was not assassinated. So where did he go after disappearing for a whole day?
Gao Can's heart skipped a beat.
"Sir, listen to my advice! Send people to Nanshan to prepare troops and horses quickly, just in case! Now it is certain that Shao Xi is not dead. Since he is not dead and has disappeared again, then no matter what he does next All of them must be detrimental to my Zhao family. At this time, your Excellency should not hesitate any longer."
Zhao Huajun was also dumbfounded. Has he finally reached this point?
