Zhang Cheng accompanied Lu Xiangsheng to accept the villagers brought by the old man Yao Dongzhao. Although the grain left behind was not a lot, it was a sign of our deep friendship.
The two walked towards the military tent, and Zhang Cheng said tentatively: "Master Governor, the sentries have reported recently that the slaves are erratic. There seem to be several groups of slaves around, but they are far away from our army, so we should be cautious. For the sake of it.”
Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng didn't speak, he boldly continued: "In the eyes of the general, Mr. Yao's proposal is indeed the best policy. Our army will turn west here, pass Tangshan County, and then turn south to meet with the senior superintendent. The troops gathered together to provide support,
Although we have to take a detour to reach Jize, which will cause a longer delay, the initiative lies with me, not with the captives. We can also replenish some food and grass between Guang and Shun, so that the soldiers and horses can rest, and then we can fight the captives again. Wouldn't it be more likely to win? "
Lu Xiangsheng stopped in front of the Chinese army's tent, turned around, sighed, and then said to Zhang Cheng: "Why didn't I know that this strategy can be used? However, the high-ranking supervisory army is already in Jize. After Ruruo received the letter, he led his troops to the north. As for me, I was defeated by the Donglu, and our crime is not only to abandon the body in the West Market?"
He stood there, looking up at the dim sky, unable to see a trace of light. After a long time, he said: "The only plan now is to go south, cross Julu, run to Ji Ze, and gather with the Gao Jianjun. Or you can fight against the slaves and thieves, but there is no other way."
…………
Early the next morning, more than 10,000 soldiers had a full meal and hurriedly broke out of camp. More than 12,000 armored troops accelerated their march. Although they had been hungry and tired for days, they learned that there were more than 30,000 soldiers stationed in Jize. Guan Ningjun, everyone is very enthusiastic.
First, if you rush to Jize, when the two armies join together, there will be 50,000 people. It will be relatively safer to fight against the captives. Second, if you rush to Jize, you will more or less receive some food and grass aid, and you can eat more. A full meal.
Their thoughts are too simple. Nowadays, having one more meal is the biggest luxury of these armored soldiers!
However, Zhang Cheng knew that this extravagant wish was destined to never be realized by Gao Qiqian.
As soon as the army entered Julu territory, Zhang Cheng sent out more sentries and ordered them to explore as far away as possible to detect the movements of as many slaves as possible.
At 3 o'clock in the morning, the army arrived at Julu County. Julu had already been captured by the Qing army. There were still black smoke rising from the city. It was unknown how many days and nights it had been burning. Now there was no light of fire, only sparse columns of smoke.
There was no one inside and outside the city of Chen, and it was extremely dilapidated. The few wells that existed were all blocked. The army did not stay here. They only sent some sentries to search the city, but found nothing.
A few miles further south, through the electric weeds, I saw a village fort not far from the southwest of the official road, Shiping. It looked very spacious and the walls of the village were relatively intact.
There is a dirt road connecting the official road, leading to the village fort. From a distance, the village fort is lifeless. At the junction of the official road and the dirt road, there is a stone sign: "Jia Zhuang".
Yang Guozhu's vanguard followed the official road, and just two miles past Jiazhuang, he saw smoke billowing on the official road in the southwest, and the sound of rapid horse hooves on the ground was faintly heard. There seemed to be dozens of knights on the horizon, galloping towards them.
At the same time, in the fields to the east of the official road, there was also a puff of smoke and dust. Looking from a distance, it could only be seen that there were not many people and horses, no more than fifty horses.
Yang Guozhu knew that if they were Tatars, they would not rush towards his own brigade like this. This must be Ye Bu who was out sentry and sent a message.
Since Gaoyang, there has been no more battle with the slave thieves. At first, everyone didn't take it seriously. But since the army turned south at Shulu and headed towards Julu, the slave thieves have become more and more weird.
Although Luqi deliberately concealed his whereabouts, it was difficult to completely hide the whereabouts of the army. At present, it is known that there are about 20,000 Qing troops in the counties around Julu.
At this moment, the sentry cavalry rushed back, and Yang Guozhu's vanguard became a little commotion. Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanzang Town, immediately gave an order: the whole army should not move, and any offenders would be beheaded.
…………
The army temporarily stopped near Jiazhuang, and all the battalions were ready. The cavalry in the battalions were scattered around the official road in small groups to guard the surroundings.
All the generals rushed to Lu Xiangsheng's central army. Yang Guozhu hurried to Lu Xiangsheng's side and said: "Supervisor, the sentries have reported that there are more than a thousand captives in the southwest, and nearly three thousand in the direction of Guangzong in the southeast. Our troops are coming."
Beside Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Zhang Yan, Jiang Mingwu, Zhang Cheng and other generals gathered in a pile. Lu Xiangsheng's general Chen An took out a newly drawn map and spread it on a table.
Zhang Cheng stepped forward and took a look, and was stunned. This map was said to be a map, but it was completely inconsistent with reality. It was said to be a picture, but it didn't have much beauty.
He secretly made a note in his mind that when he formed an army in the future, all maps must be drawn from scratch, and all officers above the team officer level must be able to draw and read maps.
He focused his attention on the picture in front of him again. He saw a square in the middle with the word "Ju Deer" written on it. There were a bunch of large circles and small squares around it, each with small words written on it and a few thick and thin lines. I don’t know if the line is a road or a river.
In Zhang Cheng's view, this is completely out of touch with reality. It's no wonder that we can win the battle relying on this picture!
I only heard Chen An report: "According to the reports of sentinels from various ministries, there are now large numbers of large numbers detected in Nangong and Xinhe in the north of Julu, Guangzong in the east, Pingxiang in the south, and even Longping and Renxian in the west." Traces of Guluqi."
Yang Guozhu clasped his fists and said, "Master Governor, the intention of these Tatars is very obvious. They are arranging their troops in this way to target our army."
Zhang Cheng took a step forward and said: "There is a vast plain around Julu. There is really no danger to defend. The captives are surging. The governor, Yang Junmen and Hujunmen, we must take precautions early."
Lu Xiangsheng was also nervous, but he quickly calmed down and said with a sneer: "Since the First World War in Gaoyang, the slaves and thieves have been avoiding fighting. Our army has traveled hundreds of miles, hoping to fight without success, but it turns out that we are here It’s okay to wait here for me, let’s fight against the slaves and thieves in Julu today.”
After all, Yang Guozhu had been in the army for a long time, and since he entered the Wei Dynasty, Xuan Da's army had won consecutive battles and victories. Although there were traces of Qing troops on all sides, he did not look nervous. He just said in a deep voice: "There are many slaves, thieves and horses, gather and disperse." If they want to fight with me, they will gather together within one or two days."
At this moment, another sentry horse reported back. After a while, Chen An came back and reported: "Supervisor, just received the sentry report, there are nearly 3,000 horsemen in the direction of Nangong, and they are chasing our army."
Zhang Yan said at this time: "My lord, the slaves and thieves are attacking from three sides, and most of them may come from behind. Our army rushes to Jize to join the high-level supervisor army. I'm afraid it won't be possible. We have to choose a good plan now." The terrain is such that you can be at ease to wait for work, so as not to be caught off guard when facing an enemy.”
