"You dare me to ask if your lordship is a descendant of the country?"

After Dong Da stood up, he faced Pei Yue and asked this question, his eyes full of expectation and faint excitement.

Pei Yue did not admit or deny it. After all, the matter between him and the Pei family was too complicated to explain clearly in a few sentences, let alone explain it carefully to a stranger, so he just asked lightly: "What's the matter?"

Dong Da looked gloomy, forced a smile and shook his head, saying: "As a native of Lingzhou, I have great admiration for Duke Xian Ding. I also see that the Duke is from Kyoto, so I have this question and nothing else."

Pei Yue looked at him steadily and changed the topic: "How is the situation in Daokou Village?"

Dong Da bowed his head and said: "The Western Wu people suddenly launched an attack. Together with the internal forces deployed in the stronghold in advance, they stabbed the guard general Cao Hu to death and set fire to the storehouse in the stronghold. At that time, the villain escaped with these comrades, and the stronghold had fallen.

, the rest of the situation is not clear yet.”

Pei Yue asked: "How many troops are there in Xiwu?"

Dong Da replied: "There are three thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry."

Pei Yuedeng frowned, the situation was more serious than he imagined.

After the 800 cavalrymen from the Ba Dao Camp of Xi Wu appeared, he immediately realized that this was no accident. The Xi Wu court would definitely take corresponding actions on the border, so he immediately notified Kyoto, Xue Tao and Guping Camp coach Ning Zhong. It was just the Xi Wu court.

The movements of the Wu people were extremely fast. Judging from the time, when the Ba Dao Camp hidden in Qingyu Mountain appeared, Xi Wu had already completed the deployment of troops on the border, and the troops were pointed directly at the nine military strongholds.

Now that Daokou Village has fallen, what about the other military villages?

It is impossible for the Xiwu court to send only more than 10,000 people to attack the border of Daliang. According to Pei Yue's understanding, Xiwu currently has at least 130,000 cavalry and 400,000 infantry. These are just numbers on the surface. The other party has hidden them.

No one knows how many backhands there are.

"Fu Hongzhi."

"Humble."

"Reorganize the soldiers from Daokou Village on the spot and divide them evenly into your four-man team. Send the injured to... Guping Camp. Those with less serious injuries will walk, while those with more serious injuries will ride on horses."

"Follow the order!"

Pei Yue originally wanted to say Hucheng, but Dong Da said before that there were internal spies in the village, so there was no guarantee that there were spies from Xiwu among these defeated soldiers. Hucheng could never bear this risk. Because generals must consider all aspects on the battlefield, this

This is something Mr. Xi has repeatedly warned him about.

He turned around and looked at the remaining generals. After thinking for a moment, he used the scabbard as a pen and quickly drew a simplified topographic map of the military camp from the west of Dongqing Mansion to the south of Hucheng on the ground.

Dong Da watched intently, the surprise in his heart beyond words. This young lord looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was very experienced on the battlefield, and now he knew the terrain of the border very well. He was here

Daokou Village lived in silence and did not pay attention to the outside news at all. Naturally, they did not know how much trouble the young powerful man in front of him had caused in Lingzhou.

"The Daokou Stronghold was broken because it happened suddenly, and the Xiwu people had deployed spies in the stronghold early, so the battle could be successful. Now that we lack intelligence, what do you think of the general situation?"

Pei Yue's scabbard was pressed against the position of Daokouzhai, and he calmly asked the generals.

Chen Xianda stared at the simple map on the ground for a while and said in a deep voice: "Sir, why do I feel that the situation is not good?"

Meng Longfu nodded and said: "Old Chen is right. Since the Western Wu people are taking action, they will definitely not be limited to Daokou Village. In my opinion, Tribulus Village and Wufeng Village behind Daokou Village are now in danger."

Pei Yue turned to look at Dong Da and asked: "When the Xiwu people appear, will there be a beacon warning in the village?"

Dong Da nodded and said, "Before he was assassinated, Commander Cao ordered the beacon fire to be lit in the village. Tribulus Village and Wufeng Village should be able to see it."

Pei Yue pondered for a moment and said to Dong Da: "Select twenty soldiers from your comrades who are familiar with the local terrain and good at riding skills. Set out immediately in groups of two to notify the remaining eight military strongholds and guard Hucheng.

Army and Guping Camp."

Dong Da took the order and left.

Wei Rui looked at the ground calmly, shook his head slightly and said, "Sir, I'm afraid the people of Xiwu are not just targeting these nine military strongholds."

"Tiger City?" Pei Yue asked.

Wei Rui analyzed: "Sir, please see, Hucheng is isolated outside the country, and supplies rely on this official road. A large part of the responsibility of the nine military strongholds is to protect this official road. If all the military strongholds fall, they will naturally be able to

Cut off the connection between Hucheng and Lingzhou. Although Hucheng has enough food and troops, there will be no danger in the short term, but what if the Western Wu people bypass these military strongholds and directly attack Lingzhou?"

Meng Longfu wondered: "According to Xifu's considerations, isn't Hucheng just to deal with this kind of crisis? As long as a hundred thousand troops are waiting in the city, how can the Xiwu people dare to attack Lingzhou directly? They are not afraid of being intercepted by the Hucheng defenders.

The way out, and then the inside should be combined with the outside?"

Wei Rui looked up at him, shook his head and said, "I suspect the people of Xiwu are waiting for this day."

He picked up his long knife and marked a few more points on the topographic map drawn by Pei Yue, and said in a deep voice: "If the Hucheng defenders leave the city in large numbers, the Western Wu army can cross the Beitiao River from the direction of Gancheng, and then

The east side of Dingjun Mountain penetrates directly behind the Hucheng defenders. Even if the Longbow Camp goes south to support them, the two sides will still be at odds in a short period of time, and victory or defeat will be decided by a thin line."

Chen Xianda frowned and said: "Do the people of Xiwu dare to make such a big bet? This is a battle for national destiny, not a small fight between hundreds or thousands of people in the past."

Wei Rui said calmly: "If it weren't for the battle of national destiny, why didn't Xiwu dare to move for fifteen years?"

Before Emperor Kaiping succeeded to the throne, throughout the period from Zhongzong to Renzong, Lingzhou had been harassed by the Western Wu cavalry. Small groups of cavalry often bypassed the military strongholds that had not yet formed a defense system and burned, killed and looted in Lingzhou. Since then,

After Pei Zhen captured Hucheng and the complete establishment of the military stronghold system, the people of Lingzhou never saw the rampant Xiwu cavalry again because they were afraid of being cut off by the Hucheng defenders.

Fifteen years later, the Western Wu court was obviously unwilling to wait any longer and decided to take action before the overall situation changed.

Pei Yue drew two arrows on the ground, one of which pointed to the nine military strongholds and then extended to the direction of Lingzhou, and the other went from Xiwu Gancheng across the Beitiao River to the east of Hucheng, and said sternly: "Judging from the current situation

, the Western Wu people probably ambushed the side of Hucheng while attacking the military stronghold.

, if the Hucheng garrison does not come out, then they can further attack Lingzhou. Cooperating with the cavalry in Lingzhou, it is very likely to disrupt the entire defense system outside Dongqing Mansion. Once they capture Dongqing Mansion, Daliang will lose its horses.

In this place, the situation will be even more critical.”

Meng Longfu asked: "Sir, since the current situation is very unoptimistic, should we return to Guping Camp?"

His worries are not unreasonable. The Xiwu people were able to successfully capture Daokou Stronghold with some luck, but the other military strongholds will not give them that chance again after receiving the warning. It is conceivable that the area hundreds of miles around will become very dangerous.

In a dangerous battlefield, what would Pei Yue do if he encountered the encirclement and suppression by the Western Wu army?

Pei Yue shook his head and said firmly: "What are you going back for? We can do more things outside. Give the order. After the whole team is completed, we will rest ten miles east for two hours, and then wait for the opportunity."

Wei Rui's eyes suddenly brightened.

Others may also realize something.

It is foreseeable that the Xiwu people's offensive will not stop. Before the Hucheng defenders and the garrison from the Guping Camp appear, their target must be the remaining eight military strongholds.

Even though Pei Yue only had 800 men in his hands at this time, nearly a thousand horses were captured in this battle, plus the mounts brought out by the defenders of Daokou Village, and the nearly 900 horses obtained by the Zangfeng Guards in Linqing, this was already

The configuration of an army is 2,500 men.
Chapter completed!