Chapter 131: Governor Li came back to pick peaches?
Xie Junyouce was on the horse, using the long knife in his hand to block and chop, and knocked off the two officers and soldiers who were blocking the horse one after another. A tiger spear was stabbed at him. He held the long knife in both hands and was able to deflect the tiger spear, and 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 spurs.
Zhang Cheng had long discovered that Xie Junyou was the leader of this group of horse thieves, but when the two armies were at odds with each other, they were unable to stop him and could only rush to pursue him. Fortunately, the servants led by Chen De stopped Xie Junyou.
But even so, Zhang Cheng could not catch up with Xie Junyou. He hurriedly retracted 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 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 had already left the string and flew out, but it grazed Xie Junyou's ribs and did not shoot him off his horse.
But even so, Xie Junyou was still frightened. While he was urging his horse to run wildly, he looked sideways and looked back. Before he could see the situation behind him clearly, he saw a cold light flying towards him!
With a "Puff!" sound, an arrow hit his right shoulder, followed by another "clang" sound. The long knife in Xie Junyou's hand fell to the ground. He hugged the neck of his horse tightly in panic, fearing that he would fall off the horse.
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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 farther and farther, making the target even smaller.
It cannot be shot.
He was so angry that he wanted to pursue 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 stopped. He came to Zhang Cheng 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, and I admire him 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 here. You quickly go to meet Lin Fangping and go south to find Chen Zhong and the others. Do a good job for me."
Send a message to 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 to fight, 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 and collect the scattered horses. It was difficult to gather them together for a while.
Only Chen De's servants with nearly 200 horses left, 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 and hurriedly responded.
The two sentry commanders said 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: "Marshuai Zhang, Mr. Chen Qian, here are the 500 cavalrymen who guerrilla Gao Qian, and behind them are the 500 cavalrymen who are guerrilla Zhang Dechang to protect 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: "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's authority has become increasingly powerful. Although his relationship with his brothers is gradually warming up, no one dares to joke in front of him anymore.
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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.
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Here, Zhang Cheng and Chen De walked slowly side by side towards 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 not make a big effort and lead the army in pursuit to completely wipe out them."
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 pursued and intercepted them several times, but they could not completely surround them in one place. How can I defeat them with only more than 10,000 officers and soldiers and more than 2,000 cavalry here?"
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 to Funiu, between the two mountains of Xiong'er, 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? Let alone wipe them out in one go!"
Chen De rode his horse and 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 invaders' offensive under Kaifeng City, we not only protected the important territory of the prince's vassal, but also protected the prince's feudal 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: "Hey, I just don't know where the Xian thieves 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 will be eliminated, and the rest will go their own way.