On the crenellations of the city wall, row after row of crossbows were placed on top, and dozens of soldiers were carefully checking them.
At their feet, bundles of sharp arrows were placed under the female wall, and logs were piled further behind.
Everyone is doing their own thing in an orderly manner.
Li Xuan came from under the city wall, inspecting and nodding with satisfaction.
Zhou Shen, who was standing beside him, looked at this arrangement with surprise in his eyes: "The prince is planning to annihilate all the enemies!"
"Brother Zhou's eyes are as bright as fire!" Li Xuan turned to look at Zhou Shen and nodded: "I do have this plan. It is best for all the enemies who come this time to stay here. Only in this way can the next step be more..." Good arrangement.”
"Next step, the prince means that in addition to the wave of enemies coming tomorrow, there will be more enemies coming, and they will come soon."
Zhou Shen heard Li Xuan's words very keenly.
Li Xuan stood at a crenellation, looking at Muzhou behind the endless mountains and forests from a distance, and said with cold eyes: "The Tianyin Sect is about to start an uprising, but we are like a sharp thorn stabbing it in If we are not removed from their backs, they will not be able to sleep peacefully."
The Tianyin Sect needs to pass through Meiling Pass to enter Wuzhou, but Li Xuan can go north from Meiling Pass, directly into Muzhou, and even under Muzhou City.
Opportunities are mutual, and risks are also mutual.
"I understand, I will obey the prince's instructions." Zhou Shen immediately bowed his hands.
"Brothers are naturally here, so let's take a good look at the combat level of Tianyin Sect. There is no need to rush to join the war. I don't need you for the time being... As for you, you can stay here. Speaking of which, In this full city, the only one who is truly an active captain is you."
Although Yan Tao came from the battlefield in the Western Regions, after he came to Wuzhou, he immediately served as the Wuzhou Bingcao and joined the army. He left the battlefield for who knows how many years.
Although Qiu Zhenmu came from a family of military generals, Qianniuwei was more involved in the job of suppressing bandits.
On the contrary, Zhou Shen, as the captain of Xinlin Zhechong Prefecture of Yangzhou Dudufu, had just completed his service. His battlefield sense and command strategy were far stronger than those of Yan Tao and Qiu Zhenmu.
In this way, even if there is a place in the future where Li Xuan cannot take care of it for a while, Zhou Shen can quickly check and fill in the gaps, or even directly take over his command.
"Today, you will first familiarize yourself with everything in Guancheng and have a good sleep at night..."
Before Li Xuan finished speaking, a Nanchang palace guard rushed up quickly and handed a piece of paper into Li Xuan's hand.
Li Xuan opened it and took a look, then handed the note to Zhou Shen and said, "Look, it's coming tomorrow, a thousand people, how much they look down on me!"
There was a trace of sarcasm on Li Xuan's lips.
The thousand reinforcements coming now were sent by Zhang Wanyu asking for help after the Wuzhou Incident.
It took three days to gather together and set off from Muzhou, and today, they have only reached half of the mountain road.
They will not arrive at Meiling Pass until tomorrow.
If we look at the strength of the Tianyin Sect before the fall of Meiling Pass, when the two parties meet, they should have close to 2,000 troops.
It is more than enough to hold Meiling Pass, but now, Meiling Pass has fallen into Li Xuan's hands.
Offense and defense change shape.
The situation changes.
Not to mention siege, even half of the entire mountain road has now fallen into Li Xuan's hands.
The people of Tianyin Sect had just appeared in the middle of the road, and their strength and configuration had all appeared in Li Xuan's hands.
Even earlier, when they set off from the other side of the mountains, everything had already fallen into Li Xuan's sight.
"Colonel Lieutenant, tell me, if I and my men had gone to the mountains to ambush them in advance, would it be possible to ambush all these thousand people halfway?" Li Xuan suddenly raised a question.
"It is true that the mountain road is narrow and it is easy to set up an ambush. However, because the mountain road is narrow, it is difficult to annihilate them all. Even me and others will suffer unnecessary damage because of the narrow mountain road." Zhou Shen shook his head cautiously.
He did not agree with Li Xuan's rash attack. The mountain road was narrow and rugged and difficult to navigate. The key was that it was difficult to ensure logistical supplies.
Li Xuan smiled faintly, looked at the mountains in front of her, and said softly: "If we successfully ambush on the mountain road, and then rush into Muzhou and attack directly at the foot of Muzhou City, if I am given three hundred thousand ox guards, I will definitely do this, but such a pity!"
"The palace soldiers are poorly trained and let the prince down." Zhou Shen handed over his hand with an apology on his face.
Li Xuan waved his hand casually and said: "This is none of your business. The formation of this regiment of government soldiers does not last more than a month. How can we go through a war? What's more, in Muzhou, everyone is the enemy. Even if Even if you kill them, there will be no place for you to stand."
An ambush on a mountain road is actually easy. Although it may cause damage to oneself, it is not difficult to plan.
What was rare was that after entering Muzhou, the whole place was filled with Tianyin cultivators.
If Li Xuan was fighting in Turkic territory, then he would not mind following the example of Huo Qubing and Li Jing and killing them wantonly, but the people of Tianyin Church, no matter what, were still citizens of the Tang Dynasty.
If he really committed a massacre, the bullets from the court would have overwhelmed him.
It's not easy to become a famous general, especially a famous general from a clan.
If you look at Li Xiaogong, Li Daozong, and Li Daoxuan, you will know what happened to the famous generals of this dynasty.
Li Xiaogong, the prince of Hejian County, captured Zhu Can, defeated Xiao Xian, conquered Lingnan, and pacified Jiangnan. He paid homage to the governor of Yangzhou. Later, he was falsely accused of treason and was dismissed from office and was appointed Zong Zhengqing.
That false accusation was just a memorial, so Taizong immediately put Li Xiaogong under house arrest. It was later confirmed that he had been wrongly accused, and he was released from house arrest. Within a few years, he died of a sudden illness.
Li Daozong, the prince of Jiangxia County, had outstanding achievements in his life. He participated in many battles against Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, East Turk, Tuguhun, Goguryeo, etc. He made great military exploits and was called a wise king together with the prince of Hejian County.
In the fourth year of Yonghui, he was involved in Fang Yiai's rebellion case and was framed by Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang. He was exiled to Xiangzhou and died of illness on the way.
Li Daoxuan, the prince of Huaiyang County, was cautious, honest, proficient in martial arts, and elegant in manners. He accompanied Emperor Taizong to attack Wang Shichong and won every battle.
In the fifth year of Wude, Li Daoxuan led an army to attack Liu Heita, but he was at odds with his deputy general. During the battle, the deputy general did not move, causing him to go deep into the army alone, and was finally defeated and killed.
It is not easy to be a famous royal general in the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the emperor, he also needs to be careful of the corruption and intrigues of his officials, and the emperor will subconsciously condone these things.
Be careful and guard your retreat.
Li Xuan raised his head and looked in the direction of Muzhou. He had already made plans for this battle. If there was no imperial decree from the emperor, he would only base himself on Wuzhou and would not easily invade Muzhou.
Of course, if the Tianyin Sect invades Wuzhou in a big way, don't blame him for being ruthless
Li Xuan raised his right hand high. At this time, he could clearly feel the wind and water vapor in the air, which was a bit stronger than yesterday.
…
On both sides of the ruined mountain road, thousands of gray-clad and leather-armored sergeants, carrying Tang knives on their shoulders, strode deep into the undulating mountains.
The wind began to pick up and the trees rustled.
No one felt anything wrong, just a chill.
Several tall horses stopped beside the avenue. Looking at the inn that was burned to ruins, the bearded man at the head couldn't help but frowned.
He turned his head and looked at the guard on the side: "How is it? Have you found the water source?"
The guard immediately raised his hands and said, "Report to the Hall Master, there is a trail on the west side that leads to a small valley three miles away. There is a small stream in the valley, which is enough for the soldiers and sergeants to drink."
"That's all for now. Let's all take a rest. We'll be on our way again in an hour." The bearded man breathed a sigh of relief, then sneered and said, "A guy who just likes to use conspiracy methods will not be able to get on the stage after all."
As he spoke, the bearded man took out a short note from his arms, looked at the reminder text on it, and showed a disdainful smile in the corner of his eyes.
This short note was sent from the Muzhou Main Hall, but it was the saint Ye Wanwan and the head of the Hangzhou hall Zhang Wanyu who actually sent the short note.
This bearded man turned out to be Luo Yongjie, the master of Muzhou Jiande Hall.
"Hall Master!" The bodyguard came from the front on horseback. Looking at the note in Luo Yongjie's hand, he whispered: "Hall Master, should we wait for the group behind us?"
"What are you waiting for? It's just a child with a yellow mouth. The certain family is not like the Saintess and Hall Master Zhang. They are not very old, so they are taking advantage of them. While we are going, if we really wait for the reinforcements to come, where will the certain family's face be put? , it’s just a checkpoint, it’s easy for a certain family to win it.” Luo Yongjie shouted loudly, not caring at all that his voice was heard by others.
"The hall master is mighty." The soldiers around him immediately shouted loudly, and Luo Yongjie showed a trace of satisfaction on his face.
The guards on one side immediately raised their hands and said: "What the hall master said is absolutely true. Looking at what is written in the note, the King of Nanchang only has a few more crossbows and a few more trebuchets, and he can scheme against people's hearts and make some conspiracies. With the addition of a Guancheng and five hundred sergeants, the Hall Master can easily capture it."
"You kid, don't give a certain family a weird look here." Luo Yongjie glared at his personal guards, then calmed down and said solemnly: "Although Saintess and Hall Master Zhang are inexperienced, they have Zuo Fei. If this guy is here, Meiling Pass will not be lost in just one day. The King of Nanchang has different strengths. This is naturally clear to a certain family, but the news only mentions crossbows and catapults, as well as being good at calculating people's hearts. , there is no mention here of what the King of Nanchang relied on to win Meiling Pass."
Luo Yongjie saw clearly. Although Li Xuan relied on crossbows and catapults to capture Meiling Pass, the real factor was his keen insight and terrifying war intuition.
Unfortunately, the letter was too short and I couldn't write much.
If Luo Yongjie were to face Zhang Wanyu and Ye Wanwan, maybe he could ask more questions.
If Luo Yongjie had received a message from Zhang Wanyu and Ye Wanwan before setting off, he would have been more cautious.
But it happened that the letter arrived in his hands halfway, and now it was a little late anyway.
"But the King of Nanchang is indeed difficult to deal with. This stone stronghold was destroyed by him. The soldiers were restless and restless. Their food and drink were affected. When they arrive at Meiling Pass tomorrow, their morale will definitely be affected. ." The guard couldn't help complaining.
"If this King of Nanchang really only has this level, it would be better. A guy who is used to calculating people's hearts will eventually be plotted by people's minds." Luo Yongjie looked at his personal guard, his face became solemn.
"Luochuan, I order you to lead a team of personal guards and rush to the Meiling Pass overnight, rest all night, and wait until dawn to open the city gate."
"Is it just us?" Luo Chuan looked at Luo Yongjie in surprise.
"No, my father will follow you."
(End of chapter)
