When Ma Dai saw that His Majesty valued Qiang Duan so much, and thought that Qiang Duan had killed Wu Lan to show his favor to Cao Cao in Hanzhong, he secretly remembered Qiang Duan in his heart.
"The last general will definitely keep a close eye on the strong end without showing any signs of it. If he discovers that he has any unusual intentions, he will quickly report it to His Majesty."
Li Shimin nodded and continued:
"As for the second thing, you and Ma Cheng need to do it together, and try not to be too arrogant.
I will tell you about this today. After this battle, you will inform Ma Cheng on your own. "
Hearing this, Ma Dai nodded in agreement, and then waited for His Majesty's instructions.
"I previously established the Hundred Cavalry Division in the imperial court, under the jurisdiction of the 'Flying Cavalry Guard' and 'Honglu Guard'.
Nowadays, the tasks of the two guards are gradually increasing, but the troops under the two guards are indeed not enough, especially the flying cavalry guards. Nearly half of them were lost in the battle of Phoenix Ridge.
I want to select troops that can be used by the Flying Cavalry Guard in addition to Yizhou's local troops.
Forced by the situation, I have very few troops to choose from. In the past, the prime minister had no flying army, no company of crossbowmen, etc., and they were only good at mountain warfare.
My flying cavalry guards should be able to fight ten of them both on horseback and on horseback, and they should be as loyal, brave and good at fighting as the late emperor's white soldiers.
After thinking about it, at present, only Lei Ding, Yang Wanwan and other Qiang and Di clans, people from Hanzhong and Yongliang border areas can be used by me.
I order you and Ma Cheng to secretly select soldiers who can join the Flying Cavalry Guard by adding the name of a household in Shu.
You should select the young and strong men who are over the age of the weak in the places I have told you to keep, and keep those who are good at fighting to test their loyalty.
Then I ordered the qualified people to go to Chengdu to see me in a team of 50 people.
After arriving in Chengdu, he ordered his uncle to lead his team to enter through the small gate at the back of the imperial city and try not to make any noise. "
Ma Dai was shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect His Majesty to be so thoughtful.
The reason for not using troops from Yizhou is because the justices in Yizhou are currently on the same level as His Majesty, and it is inevitable that there will be subtle plots lurking among them.
Focus on recruiting Xiliang Qiang Di or border people. First, they have the reputation of themselves and their brothers, and their loyalty is guaranteed.
Second, the people here are strong and fierce, and everyone is good at riding and shooting. Your Majesty can easily cultivate soldiers who can "take one as ten".
Thinking of this, Ma Dai quickly bowed and said:
"Your Majesty's talents and strategies will be greatly admired by the generals. I will definitely work hard to select loyal, brave and capable warriors for Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel happy when he heard this, and said softly:
"It's not appropriate to raise your voice here. When this battle is victorious, I will propose a toast to thank the general!"
Ma Dai quickly nodded in agreement.
"Afterwards, I will inform General Wei Yan and ask General Wei Yan to secretly support you.
Ma Chengna, I will also give him a convenient position, and then you two will just select soldiers for me to fight.
As long as I don't give the order, you don't have to stop. "
The two discussed together and arrived at the planned ambush location at dawn.
While Li Shimin ordered his soldiers to make fireballs from local materials, he led Zhang Yan and Ma Dai to observe the enemy's situation in the mountains and forests.
This is a high mountain to the east of the enemy village, and the high mountain on the opposite side just sandwiched the short mountain where the enemy village is located.
When Li Shimin looked down, he saw that the enemy's stronghold only had two gates, the north and south gates. The south gate faced the official and army camp and the terrain was low.
The north gate is the planned "back gate". This gate is backed by the ridge, and there is only a narrow road leading to the back.
The terrain of the north gate is slightly higher, and the entire camp is connected to the foot of the high mountain from east to west, and the north and south are just stuck in the dangerous part of the low mountain.
No matter which direction you attack alone, it will be difficult to succeed.
Seeing that the enemy's mountain stronghold not only had high walls and thick walls, but was also located on the steep and gentle slopes surrounding it, Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh at the difficulty of countering the rebellion here! "
Not long after, everyone had prepared several fireballs.
Li Shimin ordered the secret guards accompanying him to check around to confirm whether he had been discovered by the enemy.
After the secret guards left, Li Shimin ordered the soldiers to take turns to rest.
After everything was settled, everyone hid in the mountains and forests, waiting for Zhang Yi and others to meet the enemy.
In the early morning, the city below was suddenly crowded with people. The young and strong barbarians were all wearing armor and carrying guns, leading their horses and gathering in the school grounds of the city wall.
Several barbarian generals also stood on the high platform in the school grounds.
Then all the old, young, women, and children in the walled city locked their doors, carrying everything they needed for daily use, and waited in groups to leave the city.
Upon seeing this, Li Shimin knew that the barbarians were about to move south, so he quickly signaled everyone to be silent and hide.
Soon after, a wave of barbarians from behind the walled city, escorted by a small number of barbarian soldiers, filed in from the small villages in the north.
Li Shimin looked to the north. Wherever he looked, the barbarians, old and young, were like long snakes, with no end in sight.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Yan couldn't help but be surprised and said:
"Brother Adou, now that the barbarians are heading south one after another, how can we make a surprise attack?
Do you want to wait until all the barbarians here have passed the Dazhai below?
But what if the front barbarian army fights Zhang Yi and others, and the barbarians in the rear get the news and dare not move forward? "
When Ma Dai heard this, he also came close to His Majesty and whispered:
"Your Majesty, don't worry. As I know, the Dazhai below is a fortress where most of the young and powerful barbarians live.
We only need to wait for all the barbarian front troops to come out, and then we can act according to our plan. The rear is mostly filled with old people, young women, and children, and they have little fighting power.
Ma Cheng and others only need to stand at the pass while taking the opportunity to enter the city from the north gate. "
Li Shimin was not worried about whether the plan would come true. What he was worried about was the excessive killing of barbarian people by soldiers in the melee.
If you win this battle, you will definitely vigorously develop resources such as mineral deposits, mountain treasures, and forests here in the future.
If the killing of civilians is too heavy and the barbarians lose the support of the people, it will be very difficult to develop this place in the future.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin quickly called a few secret guards and ordered:
"Immediately go to Ma Cheng and others in the north, and say that His Majesty has an order to kill only those who resist, and not to kill barbarians for no reason!"
The secret guards took the order and left.
Li Shimin then ordered Zhang Yan and Ma Dai:
"When the war breaks out later, you must strictly instruct the sergeants not to use fire attacks without killing innocent people.
Just set a few fires at the edge of the walled city as a signal for Ma Cheng and others to take action. "
Zhang Yan saw that His Majesty was so kind to the barbarians and said in confusion:
"Brother Adou, why are you so worried? Since the barbarians are rebelling, they will be suppressed and massacred by the army.
This group of barbarians was originally difficult to deal with. Now that Brother Adou is so timid, wouldn't it make it even more difficult? "
When Ma Dai heard this, he also quite agreed. After all, swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Who cares about killing a few more civilians in order to win?
Thinking of this, Ma Dai was about to agree with Zhang Yan, but His Majesty seemed to see through his mind and said first:
"You and other generals in the army usually only think about killing the enemy and performing meritorious deeds. I am the king of a country and I have many things to worry about.
Don't you know that 'he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world'? We, the Han people, are the people, are we the barbarians not the people? "
Seeing His Majesty's displeasure, the two of them also knew that their concerns were not as comprehensive as His Majesty's, so they each nodded in agreement, and then remained silent.
While several people were discussing, the gate of the city below opened.
I saw several barbarian generals surrounding a powerful nobleman wearing animal skins, who was leading the barbarian soldiers behind him out to the south.
A large group of barbarians followed closely behind them, and behind them were the barbarian people. At regular intervals, there were three or five barbarians guarding them.
"The two of you return to your positions. When the shouts of killing start from the south, you will act according to your plan. Remember not to kill innocent people in vain!"
Zhang Yan's face was full of dissatisfaction, and she turned away with a squeak.
Seeing Zhang Yan being so arrogant, Ma Dai couldn't help but stick out his tongue, and then took the order and left.
When it was almost noon, I suddenly saw the barbarian scouts coming from below on flying horses. They galloped toward the walled city while shouting in barbarian language.
Li Shimin quickly looked at Ma Dai, who was not far away.
Ma Dai understood, quickly came to Li Shimin's side, bowed his head and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the news that the barbarian scouts have returned. It probably means 'there are officers and soldiers encountered in the front, everyone should stop marching and stand by'"
Li Shimin heard this and knew that the time had come.
"Ma Dai, order the soldiers to drive fireballs and set fire to the edge of the walled city. When the fire breaks out, they will rush down with me to kill the barbarians to deter the people."
Ma Dai took the order and left.
Li Shimin called Zhang Yan to come to his side again. When Zhang Yan arrived, Li Shimin ordered:
"Zhang Yanru is with me. Don't act on your own. If you see Chen Zhong, I will order him not to kill civilians!"
Zhang Yan saw that His Majesty could not get around the "civilian" hurdle, so she curled her lips and said:
"This heroine knows it. Your Majesty doesn't need to talk about it!"
Li Shimin couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
While they were talking and laughing, Ma Dai pushed down the fireball.
The fireball rolled into the walled city and instantly ignited several places where firewood was piled.
When Li Shimin saw the fire in the village, he pulled out the sword from his waist, pointed it down, and said with emotion:
"Commanders, the morale of the barbarian army is in chaos at this time, it is time for us to take advantage of the situation to cover up the killing!
The success or failure of suppressing the rebellion here all depends on this one move. You all must be energetic and hold your weapons, and follow me to kill! "
When all the soldiers heard this, they were greatly encouraged and each stared closely at His Majesty's flag.
Just waiting for the commander's flag to move, he rushed down to kill the barbarians.
On the high mountain opposite, Chen Zhong saw His Majesty raising a flag and rushing down the mountain.
Not caring about setting off more fireballs, he also ordered the soldiers to follow him and charge downwards.
When the barbarians saw enemies on three sides, the generals ignored the civilians and hurriedly went to fend off the officers and soldiers.
When the civilians saw the shouts of killing everywhere, they panicked and ran around like headless flies in panic.
For a time, the sounds of fighting and crying were endless, broken limbs and broken arms could be seen everywhere, and the river was dyed red with blood...
