Author: Bei Wei

At dusk, the entire coalition camp was silent, with only the shrill cries of jackdaws echoing over the military camp.

The news of the tragic defeat of the Border Army shrouded everyone's mind like a dark cloud. The sergeants gathered around the campfire in silence to keep warm. Their faces lacked the high spirits of the previous two days, and it seemed that even the air had become heavier.

The enemy camp on the opposite side was in jubilation, and the biting cold wind brought faint drumming sounds, obviously celebrating the victory.

Qiu Liming was in charge of patrolling the camp tonight. After checking various sentry posts, he stood on the watchtower and stared at the opposite camp irritably. He still couldn't hold himself back and patted the railing, causing the snow chunks on the railing to fall rustlingly.

.

"Why is your lord not allowed to sneak attack on the enemy camp?" He turned to the lieutenant behind him and said, "The enemy is obviously getting carried away and neglecting to take precautions. If we sneak over at night, we will definitely be able to catch them by surprise."

The deputy general said: "General Qiu, my lord has already said it. Stealing a camp is useful for those stupid and conceited enemies, but it is not effective against Xiao Beiheng."

"How could it be possible? When he besieged Shengjing before, didn't the lord use many strategies?"

"My lord said that after those strategies were used, Xiao Beiheng knew how to deal with them. Xiao Beiheng is a very smart man. When he besieged Shengjing, he suffered a lot because he underestimated the enemy and rushed forward. This time he played steadily and was not in a hurry. Even if

There is no opportunity for my lord to take advantage of."

Qiu Liming sighed and was about to go downstairs when the deputy general suddenly whispered: "General Qiu, if this continues, can we win?"

Upon hearing the deputy general's question, Qiu Liming turned around, grabbed the deputy general's collar, and whispered: "Watch your mouth and don't disturb the morale of the army."

The lieutenant general pushed up his helmet covering his eyes and said: "General Qiu, the general is not worried about our road. My lord Tao's strategy is unparalleled in the world, and it is impossible for our army to fail. But once General Zhao's road is defeated, the enemy will immediately attack us."

The army is conducting a pincer attack."

"I will naturally remind your lord of this matter," Qiu Liming let go of his deputy and walked downstairs, "keep a good watch. If you find the enemy stealing the camp, immediately raise the alarm."

The deputy general straightened his collar and said, "Don't worry, General Qiu. If there is any mistake, I will come to see you."

Qiu Liming nodded in praise, turned around and got off the ladder, and walked quickly towards the brightly lit Chinese army tent in the distance.

The deputy general's worries are not unreasonable. He represents the general mentality of the current coalition generals. Everyone trusts Xiao Zhuo very much, but they are all worried about Zhao Mu's approach. If the border army is defeated in the next attack, the coalition forces will face the consequences.

Unfavorable situation of flanking attack.

He walked into the Chinese army's tent. Inside the brightly lit tent were dozens of generals. None of them had taken off their armor, and they were standing in a circle with dust all over their bodies. They looked at Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi who were standing in front of the map.

He also stood beside Mei Dai, Queen of Xiliang, and listened to Xiao Zhuo's explanation of the situation.

"General Zhao fought very well in the first two battles, especially the second battle," Xiao Zhuo pointed to the map. "Not only did he annihilate 20,000 enemy troops, he also occupied the enemy's camp and captured the opponent's general Yan Yilong."

Shen Yuexi quietly pulled Mei Dai's sleeve: "Sister Mei, who is Yan Yilong?"

She asked Wei Liang about the battle before, but Wei Liang didn't know whether he felt embarrassed or something else, he hesitated and refused to tell her, so she had no choice but to come to this military meeting to observe.

Mei Dai said softly: "After General Zhao Mu was dismissed and imprisoned by Xiao Beiheng, Yan Yilong was the general who led the Northern Army in his place. When we retreated to Leshan County, he led the Northern Army to chase us and were defeated by us three times."

"So it's him," Shen Yuexi said. "It seems he has my brother's trust."

Mei Dai said: "Yan Yilong is the general of the Dingbei Army and a trusted confidant of Xiao Beiheng. In order to weaken the influence of General Zhao Mu, Xiao Beiheng replaced most of the generals in the army with his confidants."

"That's strange. The opponent's coach was captured by us. How did General Zhao Mu lose?"

Mei Dai gently touched her arm and motioned her to listen to Xiao Zhuo's speech.

"...In the third formation, General Zhao Mu believed that the enemy's army would be in a state of chaos without its commander, and wanted to win in one battle, so he sent 40,000 troops into two groups to attack the enemy, leaving 30,000 troops to guard the camp. He personally led the two All the troops are in the center to support them."

When Xiao Zhuo said this, his tone turned serious: "But not long after the attack, the enemy army suddenly came out with a cavalry force. Regardless of the troops flanking the flanks, it charged directly at the Chinese army where General Zhao was. General Zhao's army could not withstand the defeat. When they returned, the enemy took the opportunity to cut off the retreat of the 40,000 soldiers..."

Only then did Shen Yuexi understand why 40,000 people were lost in the first battle. It turned out that the enemy rushed directly into the Chinese army where Zhao Mu was stationed, which was equivalent to attacking the brains of the border army. After Zhao Mu was defeated, the 40,000 people were cut off from their retreat. , turned into a plate of loose sand, naturally allowing the enemy to make dumplings.

Shen Lan said: "The opponent's cavalry is so powerful that it can charge all the way into General Zhao's central army?"

Mei Dai also wondered: "General Zhao Mu has experienced hundreds of battles. His Chinese army must be heavily defended. How could the other party easily break through the defense line?"

The other generals in the tent also started talking in low voices, not seeming to believe it.

Xiao Zhuo raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and continued: "There is nothing wrong with General Zhao's tactics, but his central army was overwhelmed by the opponent's cavalry, which was the main reason for this defeat. And the enemy's cavalry, It’s something we’ve never encountered before.”

Shen Yuexi raised her hand and said, "Husband, what kind of cavalry is the other party?"

Xiao Zhuo said: "They call it Iron Buddha Tu, and there are about 5,000 of them. The soldiers are all heavily armored, with only their eyes exposed. Even the horses are heavily armored. After the battle, they only injured more than ten people, which is really powerful. .”

Hearing this, everyone in the tent exploded.

Qiang Lin said with disbelief on his face: "After one battle, only a dozen people were injured. Isn't it incredible?"

Xiao Zhuo shook his head and said: "General Wei Liang's description may be exaggerated, but the defeat of the Border Army is also true. Now General Zhao Mu has asked us to send troops to support, and I am thinking about what to do."

A general said angrily: "He still asked us to support him? We are only 50,000 people, and we have to deal with 80,000 enemy troops, and he asked us to support them? If we deploy troops to support them, how can we resist the attack from the other side?"

When he finished speaking, several generals nodded in agreement.

Mei Dai said: "Gentlemen, please be quiet for now. Let Mei Dai say a few words."

Everyone admired Mei Dai very much, and when they saw her standing up, they immediately became quiet.

"The other side has Tiefu Tu, and General Zhao Mu cannot fight against it. If this continues, the Guan army on the northern border will be wiped out sooner or later," Mei Dai said calmly, "At that time, our entire army will be wiped out. We must save it, and we must do it quickly. "

"Sister Mei is right!" Shen Yuexi clapped her hands and applauded Mei Dai, "General Zhao still has 50,000 troops. If he doesn't care, these 50,000 troops will be wiped out."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Xiao Zhuo, who also nodded in approval.

A general said: "The opponent's Iron Buddha is so powerful, how can we save it?"

Qiu Liming stood up and said: "What about the Iron Buddha and Iron Rabbit? Qiu doesn't believe they can stop our repeated crossbows." After saying that, he turned to Xiao Zhuo and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I am not talented at the end of the day. I am willing to lead five thousand companies." Crossbowmen go to rescue General Zhao Mu."

Shen Yuexi also waved his fist and said, "Yes, shoot them and knock them over."

She has full confidence in the repeating crossbow made by Daxiong, and believes that it will definitely help Zhao Mu get out of trouble.

Shen Lan said with some worry: "Our army has only 5,000 crossbowmen. If we send them all to rescue General Zhao Mu, once the enemy troops rush over, we will have to fight hand to hand."

Since the beginning of the war, the repeating crossbow that can shoot through wooden shields has always been the magic needle of the sea. Even if the infantry suffers a loss in battle, it can retreat calmly. The enemy is afraid of the repeating crossbow and does not dare to pursue.

Xiao Zhuo said: "It doesn't matter, our army has temporarily suspended the war card these days, dug deep trenches, and set up many defensive horses. General Qiu sent five thousand crossbowmen to rescue General Zhao. Without further delay, we must gather the troops now and wait until nightfall. Set off."

After the generals dispersed, Qiu Liming reorganized his company's crossbowmen, took advantage of the night to leave the coalition camp, and headed north.

Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo stood on the watchtower, watching the five thousand crossbowmen disappear into the darkness, and said to Xiao Zhuo: "Husband, where did that iron pagoda come from? How come I have never seen my brother use it before?"

Xiao Zhuo showed a pensive gaze, as if thinking to himself: "The enemy's soldiers are wearing heavy armor, and the horses are also wearing heavy armor. In this case, ordinary bows and crossbows can't penetrate at all. No wonder General Zhao Mu will be defeated... Maybe it's his younger brother It was prepared secretly."

Shen Yuexi put her hands to her mouth to breathe in the heat, buried her head in Xiao Zhuo's arms and said, "Husband, it's cold, let's go back and rest."

Xiao Zhuo touched her cold hair lovingly, took off his cloak and added another layer to her, and said, "I heard from Dr. Hua that everything is fine with our baby?"

The two of them walked down the watchtower. Shen Yuexi leaned on his arms and slowly walked to the bed tent, saying, "Of course, I was worried at first."

"Then have a good rest and stop running around." Xiao Zhuo smiled and stretched out his finger to scratch her nose. Shen Yuexi wrinkled her nose and made a face at Xiao Zhuo: "It's such a cold day, you don't need to say anything I will also stay in the camp obediently."

The night passed, and in the morning, Xiao Beiheng sent his troops out to fight as usual and yelled at them. Xiao Zhuo did not send out his troops to fight as usual, but ordered his people to hang out the no-war card. The enemy soldiers yelled and cursed and felt that it was meaningless, so they had to go back.

After Shen Yuexi finished breakfast, she planned to go see Xiao Zhuo's training of soldiers. As soon as she walked out of the camp, Mei Dai hurriedly came over and said, "Sister, the armor has been transported here. It's at the school ground. Let's go and see it quickly."

"What armor?" Shen Yuexi didn't understand for a moment.

"They belong to the enemy's Tiefutu soldiers." Mei Dai took her hand and rushed toward the school field. "Didn't General Zhao Mu injure more than ten of the enemy's soldiers? He took off all their armors and transported them to us to see. Just now It’s been shipped. Also, who do you think is leading the opponent’s Tiefutu?”

"Who?"

"Doctor You and Magistrate Jiao."

"No way!" Shen Yuexi came out with countless questions, "Doctor You is the village doctor of Daliang Village, and Magistrate Jiao is the magistrate of Tongliao. How did these two old men become the generals of Tiefu Tu?"

"Sister," Mei Dai smiled and nudged her, "They are all Pei Jingyun's subordinates. You have forgotten. This Iron Buddha Temple is obviously an army secretly established by Pei Jingyun." Shen Yuexi suddenly realized. .

When the two of them arrived at the school grounds, they saw a shelf in the center of the grounds. The bottom was in the shape of a horse, and the top was in the shape of a human. Both had been put on a set of all-black armor, which shone brightly in the early morning sun, quite a bit. With a majestic aura, Xiao Zhuoze, Shen Lan and several other generals stood fifty steps away and said something.

Shen Yuexi and Mei Dai came to Xiao Zhuo together. Shen Yuexi said: "Husband, is this the armor of Iron Buddha Tu?"

"Exactly," Xiao Zhuo said to the sergeant standing aside holding a repeating crossbow, "shoot the arrow."

The sergeant picked up his repeating crossbow and pulled the trigger. Hearing three "swish, swish, swish" sounds, the three crossbow arrows flew out from the string, hitting the wooden dummy's head, chest and abdomen, and the horse's chest respectively.

Dang, Dang, Dang! None of the three crossbow arrows penetrated the armor, and all of them flew to the ground.
Chapter completed!