Although it was already late autumn, the sun in the sky was still very fierce after six o'clock. Under the scorching sun, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were wrapped in billowing yellow dust, and they were chasing westward in a jumble of cavalry. superior.
By noon, the officers and soldiers had chased west for more than 20 miles and arrived at Mengjiazhuang. At this time, they were exhausted, hungry and thirsty.
Moreover, because the bean feed needed to feed the horses in each camp was insufficient, and the fodder had not been fed in the past few days, when they arrived near Mengjiazhuang, these war horses burrowed into the surrounding woods, lowering their heads. Gnawing the grass in the forest, no longer willing to run forward.
Seeing that the cavalry was unwilling to move forward on the strength of their horses and was actually delaying in secret, the infantrymen of each battalion were also unwilling to rush forward. There were gossips everywhere, and some were already complaining and cursing endlessly.
Zhenbao generals Hu Dawei, He Renlong and others are all veterans who have fought with the bandits for many years. They naturally know that with the morale of the army at this time, they must not continue to pursue forward.
If they are suddenly blocked by bandits during their march, or if they are ambushed by bandits, they will be defeated at the first touch.
Therefore, after discussing it first, they came to the Central Army to see the two governors Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue, and reported to them: "Governor Fu, Governor Yang, now our officers and soldiers have chased the thieves for more than 20 miles, not only the horse power Being sleepy, the soldiers were also very sleepy.
The bandit army is not far away now, and our army is exhausted. If we rush to fight with the bandits at this moment, we may not be able to win in the future.
It would not be too late to stop here temporarily for half a day so that our army can recover its strength and strength. Then early tomorrow morning, we can rush straight into the flooded areas of Liutai and fight with the thieves. "
After hearing what they said, Governor Yang Wenyue felt that it made sense. He immediately said to Fu Zonglong: " Governor Fu, it is true that our troops are exhausted and our horses are exhausted. It is expected that bandits will not be able to escape far, and war thieves will not be in a hurry. For a while.
If not, I listened to the advice of the two generals Hu Commander and He Commander, and stopped here for half a day. After breakfast tomorrow, I would break out the camp and march forward to attack the bandit camp. I am more certain of winning. I wonder if the Superintendent thinks so? "
Facing such a situation, Fu Zonglong, the governor of the three sides, also knew that continuing to pursue the bandits at this moment would be a disaster, not to mention that the soldiers were tired and the horses were weak. If the pressure was more urgent, a mutiny might occur.
At that moment, Fu Zonglong had no choice but to follow Yang Wenyue's words and said: "In this case, it's okay to camp here first, but the staff of each battalion must be careful to prevent bandits from sneaking up to attack the camp, and the soldiers of each battalion are not allowed to disperse and fight on their own. grain."
He then sent the commander an order: "Instruction, each battalion must immediately bury pots and make rice so that the soldiers can eat quickly and the horses must be fed quickly. If the bandits do not come, the army will rest here and wait for the battle."
If the bandits dare to attack and harass, they will attack at any time and will never let the bandits succeed! "
After hearing the order, Hu Dawei, He Renlong and other generals breathed a sigh of relief and responded hurriedly: "Follow the order."
…………
But he said that "a tiger" Li had passed over. Before Si Shi, he led eight thousand Qingqi who set off from the shooting bridge and came to a dense forest to the west of Mengjiazhuang early to ambush.
In addition, there are more than 3,000 infantry and a few cavalry who have already passed Mengjiazhuang and are slowly marching towards Longkou Town. Their task is to lure the enemy.
At this time, as they were hurriedly retreating to Mengjiazhuang according to their original plan, they could already see a somewhat disorganized infantry in the distance.
According to the report from the scout, Li Guo learned that the army had fallen into the trap and was rushing towards Mengjiazhuang. He immediately felt relieved. After many days of planning, it was obvious that it was time to reap the fruits of victory.
He sent an order for each team of cavalry to retreat to the other side of the dense forest, and asked the eight thousand light cavalry to dismount quickly. They all sat on the ground to rest and prepare for battle. They also tied the war horses to the trees and fed them some beans to avoid fighting the officers and soldiers later. The horse's foot power cannot be used.
Li Guo inspected the station and noticed that the sergeants were all waiting for the upcoming fight. They all seemed energetic and had high morale.
But what satisfied him the most was that no one of his soldiers dared to talk casually, and no one dared to whisper. The entire station seemed very quiet.
Li Guo listened to the light chirping of birds coming from the trees. When the late autumn breeze blew by, the branches and leaves on the trees were also rustling. In addition, there was the slight sound of war horses gnawing on the grass.
He walked under a big tree. There were more soldiers sitting and resting here, but no one made a sound. There was a woodpecker with its claws on the thick trunk, supporting its body with its tail, and clicking rhythmically. When pecked, it makes a "dong-dong" sound like a snare drum.
A cavalryman had a piece of hay in his mouth and was looking up at the woodpecker. Li Guo was very satisfied with the performance of the cavalrymen in his camp, and he was really happy in his heart.
He said to Tong Shoushan who was accompanying him: "This is what a soldier should look like."
Tong Shoushan changed from his usual careless attitude. At this moment, he was also cautious and softly praised: "Master Hu has trained soldiers, what else can you say!"
Li Guo smiled and said: "The training of soldiers should be like this. You can follow orders and prohibitions, advance or retreat according to your heart, and all move according to the orders of the general. Only in this way can you truly be as quiet as a virgin and move as fast as a rabbit."
Tong Shoushan's face was full of smiles, but he was really amazed in his heart: these original defeated soldiers, old thieves, as well as some hunters, horse farmers, and even some were just mud-legged farmers growing crops.
But once they arrived at the Chuang camp, it had only been half a year, and they had already developed the prototype of a strong army. As for the Chuang army's performance in order and prohibition today, I am afraid that many Ming frontier troops could not match it.
If the intruder breaks through several big cities this year, given time, his strength will not be underestimated. By then, in this glorious Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that only his own general can rival him.
…………
Accompanied by Tong Shoushan, Li Guo came to the resting place of Cao Ying's soldiers, but he did not go deep inside for fear of alarming everyone.
Although Cao Ying's side was quite quiet, without the hustle and bustle of the past, there were still some people who couldn't sit still. Two or three of them gathered together to play leaf play, but the cheers from the past were missing.
Of course, there were also people talking and laughing in low voices. Besides gambling, they were talking about women. Such a topic was naturally attractive. Fortunately, there were fewer people talking and more people listening. From time to time, there would be a burst of quiet laughter.
Yang Chengzu had already seen him from a distance, waved to him, asked him to go over and talk to him.
But Li Guo just smiled and nodded, but did not walk over.
The thousands of invading troops responsible for luring the enemy deeper were led by two generals of the invading camp, Bai Wang and Bai Minghe. They did not come to the dense forest, but continued to rush westward on the road two miles away to the south to avoid The officers and soldiers who were being followed noticed the ambush hidden in the dense forest.
After Li received the letter, he quietly climbed up a tall tree and observed the movements of the officers and soldiers.
He himself was sitting on the ground. Surrounding him were the generals who broke into the camp. They were sitting or standing. Some of them were restless and walked gently behind him.
Everyone was very anxious. They wished that the officers and soldiers would catch up quickly so that they could rush out and fight.
However, as the commander-in-chief of an army, Li Guo looked at ease and as if nothing had happened. He even ordered his soldiers to take out his favorite chess game.
This chessboard was painted on a piece of burlap, and it was obviously old. The soldiers gently spread the chessboard on the ground, and the four corners were pressed with small stones to prevent it from being blown by the wind.
The chess pieces in this set are all made of stone. Although they are not big, the edges of the chess pieces are very smooth. It is obvious that they have been rubbed in people's hands frequently.
Li Guo gave Tong Shoushan a smile, nodded, and said softly: "How about it? How about Lord Shan come and kill a game?"
Tong Shoushan grinned widely, but he suppressed not making a sound. It was obvious that he was laughing at Li Guo's poor chess skills.
At that moment, Li Guo held the white piece and Tong Shoushan held the black piece, and they started to kill the generals.
But just after making a move, a message came from the tree: "Most of the officers and soldiers are stationed in Mengjiazhuang. There are officers and soldiers inside and outside the village, both on foot and on horseback. I don't know what they mean."
Li Guo just nodded, but did not say anything. Instead, he grabbed a cannon and hit the black chess piece, eating one of Tong Shoushan's knights.
A general beside him thought that it was time to attack the officers and soldiers at this moment, so he whispered: "General, since the officers and soldiers are stationary, they must be tired, and they must be making rice."
Just in time to take advantage of the chaos they are facing, our cavalry rushed forward and killed him for a while, and we will surely win a complete victory. Please give the order quickly, General! "
Li Guo smiled and shook his head. He didn't say a word and just concentrated on playing chess with Tong Shoushan.
Tong Shoushan was playing chess with Li Guo, but he admired Li Guo for being so calm. He thought to himself: No wonder King Chuang dared to hand over tens of thousands of troops to him to attack Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue's troops. It seems that this Li Guo is indeed not a simple person, it is better to be careful when in front of him.
The two of them played a few more moves, and Li Guo gradually gained the upper hand. One of his horses had already jumped across the river, and was heading towards Tong Shou's cannon in the mountain.
At this time, another message came from the tree: "The officers and soldiers in Mengjiazhuang have dispersed, and many small teams are rushing to nearby villages, probably in search of food.
Even their horses had been unsaddled, and it looked like they were going to set up camp in Mengjiazhuang. "
The generals around him began to plead with Li Guo again: "General, please give the order. This opportunity is not to be missed. While the officers and soldiers' camp is not stable, advance troops and attack, and we will definitely kill them and defeat them."
Li Guo still ignored him. He picked up a cannon and knocked out a guard on Tong Shoushan's side with a "bang" sound, and the cannon crossed the river.
Then, he glanced at the generals around him, shook his head gently, and continued to play chess.
Tong Shoushan opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but Li Guo pressed forward step by step on the chessboard, and Tong Shoushan could only struggle to deal with it, and finally said nothing.
After a while, the news came again: "There is chaos around Mengjiazhuang. The officers and soldiers are setting up camps separately. Many teams of officers and soldiers are going out to collect wood, collect water, and cut fodder."
After hearing this report, the generals who broke into the camp became more and more anxious. They all geared up and stepped forward to quietly challenge Li Guo to fight.
But "a tiger" Li Guo remained silent. He smiled, jumped the hippopotamus forward, and said: "General!"
"Hey, Lord Tiger, this damn horse is coming very hard."
Tong Shoushan said this without stopping his hands. He gently picked up a cannon, pinned the legs of the damn horse, and said: "I know that Lord Tiger's horse must cross the river. He will come here to catch us."
Li Guo said calmly: "General again!"
After saying that, he sank the rim cannon to the bottom. Tong Shoushan calmly flew the elephant up and said with a smile: "The elephant is walking in the field. If we fly up, we won't be able to catch it."
At this moment, I saw a soldier slipping down from the tree and reported: "General, there are officers and soldiers everywhere inside and outside Mengjiazhuang. There are people transporting grain and grass, people drawing water, and some are drinking horses. It's even worse than before." It’s chaotic.”
Li Guo was holding a cart in his hand and wanted to call General Tong Shoushan again.
But after hearing the report from the soldiers, he suddenly swung his car to the side and said, "Let's go down here today. Master Shan, we still have a big chess game, and we're going to start now!"
Li Guo turned around and ordered another soldier, "Put away the chessboard and chess pieces. Don't leave them here."
He stood up and ordered people to immediately invite Yang Chengzu and several other generals from Cao Ying, and then quickly assigned their respective combat tasks to everyone.
Then he shouted majestically to the flag and drum officer: "Send the order to beat the drums, and the whole army will attack!"
The drum beat loudly, shaking the heaven and the earth. Eight thousand Qingqi rode out from the forest with a force like a strong wind. For a moment, the sound of horse hooves, shouts of death, and the sound of war drums all rang together, and several streaks of smoke rushed towards Mengjiazhuang. Roll away.
…………
When the officers and soldiers in Mengjiazhuang saw the intruder cavalry rushing out of the dense forest, everyone turned pale in panic. The whole army was in chaos. The first reaction of many soldiers was to run away.
Fortunately, the two governors, Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue, were relatively calm, especially the governor of the three sides, Fu Zonglong, who had already made up his mind to die when he set off this time.
He and Baodu Yang Wenyue immediately summoned their respective soldiers and horses from the Dubiao camp and rushed to form a formation outside Mengjiazhuang to wait for the thieves, trying their best to stabilize their own positions and prevent the entire army from collapse.
Governor Fu Zonglong sent an order to all the generals: "Today we will fight the thieves here. If any of the generals are timid and retreat, they will be killed without mercy!"
Just as the military order was being conveyed, Fu Zonglong saw a guerrilla leading some of his servants on horseback to flee to the northeast. He immediately ordered General Biaoying to capture him.
In front of all the generals, he ordered his own soldiers to bring out the "Shangfang Sword" given by the emperor and behead him!
As expected, the generals were calmed down, and they all tried their best to organize their troops and began to form formations.
As for the small groups of officers and soldiers who were scattered in the surrounding villages, gathering grain and collecting firewood, only a few fled immediately after hearing the sound of the rallying horn, and most of them ran back to the military camp.
He Renlong, Hu Dawei, Li Guoqi and other generals also hurriedly formed their troops in formation outside Mengjiazhuang, preparing to fight the incoming intruders.
(End of chapter)
