Xie Junyouce was on the horse. The long knife in his hand blocked and chopped, and he knocked off the two officers and soldiers who were blocking the horse. A tiger spear was stabbed at him. He held the long knife in both hands and was able to deflect the tiger spear. He immediately He urged the horse to gallop south. There was a faint blood red color on the horse's belly, which was obviously caused by the spurs.
Zhang Cheng had long discovered that Xie Junyou was the leader of this group of horse thieves, but when the two armies crossed paths, they were unable to stop him and could only chase after him. Fortunately, the servants led by Chen De stopped Xie Junyou.
But even so, Zhang Cheng couldn't catch up with Xie Junyou. He hurriedly put back the knife-clutching stick on the winning hook, took out his Kaiyuan Bow, pulled out an arrow and put it on the bowstring. The whole movement was as skillful as flowing clouds and flowing water.
Chen De also rode after him with a bow and arrow, shouting: "Shuai Zhang, the one who escaped must be the leader of the bandits. I'll shoot him and knock him off his horse."
As soon as he finished speaking, the arrow flew out from the string, but it grazed Xie Junyou's ribs and did not shoot him off his horse.
But even so, Xie Junyou was still frightened. While urging his horse to run wildly, he looked sideways and looked back. Before he could clearly see the situation behind him, he saw a cold light flying towards him!
With a sound of "Puff!", an arrow hit his right shoulder, and then there was another "clang". The long knife in Xie Junyou's hand fell to the ground. He hugged the neck of his horse tightly in panic, for fear that he would fall off the horse. .
…………
Seeing that his first arrow missed, Chen De shot two more arrows in succession, but Xie Junyou had already been shot by Zhang Cheng. He lay on the horse's back, so that the target was smaller, and the horse galloped further and further, making it even more difficult. It is not allowed to be shot.
He was so angry that he wanted to chase him again, but Zhang Cheng stopped him and said to him: "There is a lot of smoke and dust in the south. I think the thieves are here to help me, so don't chase me!"
Chen De also reined in his horse and came to Zhang Cheng's side and said with some enthusiasm: "It's a pity that he escaped."
Then he clasped his fists at Zhang Cheng and said, "Zhang Shuai's magic arrow is well-deserved. Chen De admires him very much. No wonder he was able to shoot Dorgon and kill the slave thief Yue Tuo back then."
Zhang Cheng was praised by him and said with a smile: "Mr. Chen Qian is very skilled in fighting and riding and shooting. I also admire it very much!"
At this time, Zhang Guangda also rode towards Zhang Cheng. When he reached Zhang Cheng, he clasped his fists and loudly reported: "Commander, the rebel left cavalry has been almost completely wiped out, and less than 30% of them escaped!"
Zhang Cheng nodded and said to him: "Quangda, let the soldiers under Chen Shuai of Henan clean up this area. You quickly go to meet Lin Fangping and go south to find Chen Zhong and the others. Do a good job for me." Send off King Li Chuang.
Remember, don't be greedy for success and rush forward. You must be on guard against bandits setting up an ambush. Especially after passing the new city, you must be extra careful. Send more sentries in front to explore the road, and do your best to contact Chen Zhong and Cui Shijie first. If it is inconvenient to attack the thieves, you can retreat back to Kaifeng. "
After receiving the order loudly, Zhang Guangda said, "Commander, don't worry. It's not our first time going into battle, so we will act with caution."
As he spoke, he sent out his own troops to wave the flags and gather his fine cavalry, and called people to call Wang Tieren to gather his light cavalry to obey his orders.
At this moment, a cloud of smoke and dust billowed from the official road in the west, and then the deafening "rumble" sound of horse hooves on the ground came, and Zhang Cheng couldn't help but change his face slightly.
Zhang Guangda and Chen De also hurriedly turned to look at Zhang Cheng, while Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai led the children's battalion to rush to protect Zhang Cheng.
Now their cavalry were scattered on the battlefield just now to clean up the battlefield, collecting the scattered horses, and it was difficult to gather them together for a while.
Gu and Deng only had nearly 200 servants left under Chen De's command, because they had just followed Zhang Cheng and Chen De to surround Xie Junyou, and they had not dispersed yet. When Chen De saw the look Zhang Cheng gave him, he understood in his heart, He hurriedly said to the two sentry commanders in a deep voice: "You are divided into two places. Go and see the soldiers and horses over there!"
After receiving the military order, they rode and led the soldiers towards the smoke. About a quarter of an hour later, one of the sentry commanders led his cavalry back on horseback.
He came to Zhang Cheng and Chen Dema and loudly reported back: "Marshal Zhang, Mr. Chen Qian, here are the 500 cavalrymen of Gao Qian's guerrillas, and behind them are the 500 cavalrymen of Zhang Dechang's guerrillas, protecting Governor Li in Shili. outside."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Guangda looked at the smoke and dust gradually dissipating to the west, raised the corners of his mouth, and said with a contemptuous smile: "This Governor Li really knows how to choose the right time. We just drove away the intruders, and he led the troops." Come back and pick peaches!"
Zhang Cheng looked at him expressionlessly and said solemnly: "Now that the cavalry camp has been assembled, why don't you go to join Lin Fangping and why are you talking here?"
In the past, Zhang Guangda might still have made a few idle remarks, but since the death of King Qin, Zhang Cheng has become more and more prestigious. Although his relationship with his brothers is gradually warming up, no one dares to joke in front of him anymore. .
Zhang Guangda was no exception. He just smiled innocently and led the elite cavalry battalion gathered around Zhang Cheng to ride southeast to meet Lin Fangping, leaving only a trail of billowing smoke.
…………
Here, Zhang Cheng and Chen De walked slowly side by side toward the west gate of Kaifeng, watching Chen De's servants and cavalry continue to clean up the battlefield just now and collect the ownerless horses.
After all, Chen De couldn't hold it back and asked softly beside Zhang Cheng: "Commander Zhang, the Li thieves were frustrated in their attack on Kaifeng. At a time when the morale of the army is low, why don't you make a big effort and lead the army to pursue them and wipe them out completely."
Zhang Cheng smiled and explained to him patiently: "It is true that the bandit army was frustrated under Kaifeng City, but there are still more than 20,000 bandit troops in the army, and there are still more than 2,000 horse bandits on horseback. Moreover, they have always been He is very good at escaping. Not only is it difficult to catch up, but even if he catches up, it is difficult to defeat them all in one go.
Previously, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops from the imperial court had chased and intercepted them several times, but they could not completely surround them in one place. I only have more than 10,000 officers and soldiers and more than 2,000 cavalry here, so how can I eliminate them? "
He then continued: "If our army pursues all the way, not only will the soldiers be exhausted, but even the army may not be able to have sufficient supplies of food and fodder. And once the intruders return between Funiu and Xiong'er Mountains, there will be ten new recruits there. Tens of thousands of refugees.
At that time, how can we, the tens of thousands of tired and hungry troops, fight against them? Not to mention getting rid of it! "
Chen Deze listened to Zhang Cheng's words and seemed to have some understanding in his heart. At this time, Zhang Cheng's voice came to his ears again: "This time we defeated the intruders' offensive under Kaifeng City, we not only protected the prince's vassal territory, but also protected the prince's vassal territory. It also stopped the resurgence of bandits in Henan Province in one fell swoop. I think at least within this year, bandits will be unable to come back and cause trouble in eastern Henan."
When Zhang Cheng said this, he stopped his horse and looked deeply to the south. Chen De also accompanied him to look south, and saw the endless smoke and dust retreating southward.
"well!"
Chen De suddenly heard Zhang Cheng sigh. He thought Zhang Cheng was worried about Zhang Guangda, Lin Fangping, Chen Zhong and other generals who were following the intruders, and was about to say something.
But I heard Zhang Cheng say: "Oh. I just don't know where the Xian and Cao thieves have fled? What's the situation with the Superintendent Yang Ge's department? If all the armies can work together, one or two of the stubborn thieves can be wiped out, and the rest can go their own way. It’s nothing to worry about!”
