On a green mountain peak at the mouth of the Yangtze River, more than a dozen colorful stone military sentries were crouching under the green trees on the top of the mountain, carefully watching the movements of the Yangtze River waterway in the south.
With the natural disasters in recent years, the once prosperous Yangtze River waterway was deserted. For a long time, not a single ship passed by.
"Team leader, it's freezing cold today, and there's only a small channel in the river. If the thief is so cunning, will he come by water?"
The speaker was a recruit who had only joined the Caishi Army last year. His name was Zhao San. He was born as a refugee in Caishi Town. Although he was only nineteen years old, he was affectionately called "Zhao San" by his brothers because he was extremely powerful and as fierce as a tiger.
As 'Three Tigers'.
However, if we are talking about detecting the enemy's situation in front of thousands of troops, this is the strength of the Three Tigers, but if we want to be like now, on the top of a mountain where no bird can shit, alone against the cold wind by the river,'
Looking blankly at this dry waterway, Sanhu obviously lost his temper.
"What? Sanhu? You boy, I gave you a good job, but you are still picky? Ah~! Since the Duke of Guo arranged us here, he must have his intentions! You are too cold at this time.
Really? Ah? If we get outside the customs, why don’t we freeze your little boy’s eggs out?”
The commander of these dozens of people, the flag officer, was a veteran who had participated in the Battle of Songshan. He had rich experience and laughed at Sanhu Dao.
People of Sanhu's generation, from the age of thirteen or fourteen, followed their parents to flee to Caishi Town, and they grew up listening to Liu Ruyi's stories almost every day!
From Liu Ruyi's escape from the Liu family on a snowy night, to the execution of Qi Meng, the chief steward of the Liu Mansion, and the Ghost Head Sword, the second steward, to the battles in Central Plains, Huguang, Songjin, Luoyang, etc., every battle commanded by Liu Ruyi
, the three tigers can almost recite it backwards and forwards!
And his biggest wish is to follow the Duke of Guo, fight his way out of the country, and kill all the dog Tatars who destroyed his homeland!
At this time, after listening to the squad leader saying that the weather outside the customs was much colder than here, Sanhu couldn't help but perked up, and the original chill was instantly forgotten, "Squad leader, look what you said! This is a cold calculation.
What? Have you seen it, brothers?"
Sanhu proudly puffed up his chest and shook his two strong arms, "As far as my body is concerned, even if you are a black blind man in the snowy mountains, it is definitely not as good as my little brother suffering from the cold! Squad leader, what do you say?
Well, even if I stay here for a month, as long as you leave me food, I will never complain at all!"
The soldiers around him burst into laughter.
"Sanhu, you brat! We all know you are strong, but you can eat more than a damn cow! If you stay here for a month, you won't be able to eat all the wild animals on this mountain.
ah!"
"That's right! Sanhu! Fortunately, there is still water here! You can still go to the water to catch fish to eat!"
Seeing the smiles of his companions, Sanhu couldn't help but straighten his neck and said dissatisfied: "What do you know! Isn't this edible! What is this called? By the way! The Duke said, this is nutritionally balanced! Eat it
If you do well, then you will have the strength to fight the Tatars well! But, having said that, you said that this thief is doing nothing, what is he doing? With his little tricks, how can he be the Duke of the country?
Opponent? Why are they the opponents of my Colored Stone Army! Damn it, it was a waste of their time!"
Everyone couldn't help but nodded.
It is said that as the Colored Stone Army has become increasingly powerful in recent years, it is almost invincible, which also makes the men of the Colored Stone Army full of arrogance!
Coupled with Liu Ruyi's repeated emphasis on the "Chinese Optimal Theory", these soldiers felt that beating their own compatriots could not be regarded as a real battlefield, but could only be regarded as clearing the door for China and Ming Dynasty. The real battlefield was Northeast China.
The Manchu Tatars are the white-skinned ghosts of Nanyang, and the miscellaneous Japanese slaves on the eastern islands!
"Shh~~! Brothers, stop talking, look! Over there, there is a boat coming over there!" At this time, the commander suddenly stretched out his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, but his finger pointed at the waterway south of the mountain.
Under the deep moonlight, everyone couldn't help but gasp.
I saw that on the originally calm water, at some point, a group of dark ships suddenly appeared.
Most of these boats are not big, and many are small fishing boats with wooden rafts. They seem to be inconspicuous, but without exception, every boat is filled with dark figures!
Definitely the military!
"The Duke of Guo really knows things like a god! Huh! These bastards are probably going to be sacrificed to thieves! Brothers, please keep your damn spirits up for me, Sanhu! Hurry! Release the homing pigeons!
, inform General Huolang immediately!" Commander Jia hurriedly ordered.
"Yes!" Sanhu also knew that the matter was important and did not dare to be negligent. He quickly took the pigeon cage hanging on a branch nearby, quickly wrote a few words, tied it to the pigeon's paw, and let it fly...
~~~~~~
At this time, this large number of ships in the waterway are undoubtedly the main force of the thieves!
Through the interrogation of those official and military messengers, Zhang Xianzhong got the most "accurate" news. At this time, Xiangyang City was empty, and the total number of defenders was only three thousand!
The highest military commander was Zhang Kejian, the military supervisor who stayed in Xiangyang.
If Zhang Xianzhong could let go of such a good opportunity, he would really be living up to his nickname of the ‘Eight Great Kings’!
At that moment, after discussing with the generals, Zhang Xianzhong without any hesitation gathered his army and quickly approached Xiangyang City through the waterway.
Here, he is going to imitate Zhuge Kongming, who was the leader, and perform a good show of 'swapping a pillar' and 'swapping a civet cat for a prince', so that the people of the world can truly see the methods of his eight kings!
The fleet of ships did not dock in time, but stopped in the mountains on the west side of the waterway.
Zhang Xianzhong personally walked up to Li Dingguo, who had put on his military armor, and asked, "Yichun, are you ready?"
Li Dingguo nodded resolutely, "Father, don't worry, if you can't open the gate of Xiangyang City, I'm willing to come and see you!"
Zhang Xianzhong nodded with satisfaction, but said softly: "Yichun, my father has confidence in your ability! However, you must be careful in everything. If something cannot be forced, don't risk yourself!
"
"Yes!" Li Dingguo kowtowed to Zhang Xianzhong respectfully, waved his hand, and said to the seventeen or eight elite riders around him: "My sons, let's go!"
"Yes!" After a moment, they mounted their horses and quickly disappeared into the deep night...
~~~~~~
At this time, in the Caishi Army camp located ten miles west of Xiangyang City, Liu Ruyi had received the latest battle report.
As expected, the thief~~ took the bait!
Beside him, Xiao Liu'er, Chun Wa, Jia Dazhuang and others were already ready and standing by.
At this time, Huolang, because he was pretending to be Luo Anbang's bodyguard, had led more than a thousand elites of the Qinglong Battalion and took root in Xiangyang City.
Everything has been on the right track.
"General, please give the order! This time, no matter what, we will never let the thief escape again!" Xiao Liu'er knelt down and said anxiously.
Chunwa and Jia Dazhuang also knelt down on the ground.
Liu Ruyi took a deep breath, and her mind became clear, "This person, Xian Thief, can be considered a hero in this world! It's a pity that this person has the temper of an ant and has to be eliminated! However, if the war starts soon! If you guys Conditions permitting, try not to harm his life! Also, I really admire the general Li Dingguo under the command of the thief, try not to harm his life, and bring him here together! Leave no one behind for the rest!"
"Yes!" The three of them knelt down and kowtowed.
"Also, this matter must be carried out according to the original plan. Don't be impatient. You must wait until the thief is put into the urn before taking action! Don't act in a hurry!"
"yes!"
Thinking that there was nothing missing, a fierce look flashed across Liu Ruyi's face, "Let's go! I'm waiting for your good news here!"
"yes!"
~~~~~
The night is dark and the moon is like frost.
I don't know when, the sky started to drift with fine sleet and snow intermittently, and there was a vast expanse between the sky and the earth.
At this time, about twenty riders were galloping towards Xiangyang City outside the south gate!
"Open the door, open the city gate quickly! We found traces of the Xian thief in Baokang County, and we need the Castle Supervisor Qianshi immediately!"
Li Dingguo was wearing a bright red mandarin duck war coat, his body was as straight as a green pine, he was riding on a tall horse, and he shouted loudly to the defenders at the top of the city.
"Who are you? It's so late, and the city gate won't open! You can enter the city again tomorrow morning!" The defenders at the head of the city were sleeping in a daze, and they couldn't think of paying attention to these thankless 'companions' .
"Damn it, I am a personal soldier of Lord Supervisor of the Army. I have an urgent military situation and need to report it to you as soon as possible! If the military situation is delayed, how can you, a bastard, afford it?" Li Dingguo couldn't help but curse!
But the more arrogant and domineering he became, the more uncertain the defenders on the city became. One of the officers hurriedly climbed up to the city, took a closer look at Li Dingguo, and said somewhat unconfidently: "Brother, which yamen are you from? But? Is there a seal? This is a rule, brothers, please understand!"
As he said that, a small basket was placed on the top of the city.
Li Dingguo sneered slightly, took out the seals of the unlucky official and military messengers from his arms, put them in a small basket, and watched as they were carried up to the top of the city.
The officer at the city head carefully checked and confirmed that it was correct, and quickly put on a smile and said, "I'm sorry, brother! These are the rules ordered by the superiors, and there is nothing I can do about it! Someone is here! Quick, put the basket down quickly , let the brothers come up first to warm themselves up!”
For a moment, dozens of soldiers on the city head worked together to lower a dozen small baskets.
Li Dingguo's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect that the officers and soldiers would be so cautious.
He looked around, looked at each other with a few of his cronies, nodded slightly, and then said to the defenders at the top of the city: "Thank you, brother! We'll be here soon!"
With that said, Li Dingguo took the lead and strode forward into the small basket. He was pulled hard by the defenders at the top of the city and came to the top of the city.
"Brother, you look a little unfamiliar! How come I haven't seen you before?" the officer from Chengtou said to Li Dingguo with a smile.
These defenders had low positions and low pay. They were far less popular than the soldiers under Zhang Kejian, the military supervisor, and their voices were naturally lower.
Li Dingguo smiled and said, "I used to be with Elder Ge all the time, and I just arrived at Lord Supervisor's door not long ago! By the way, how is the situation here, brother? This city gate is a fat job!"
"Ouch! Brother, what you said is wrong! There is a chaos of war at the moment. Not one hundred and eighty people have entered the city in one day, and they are all poor and begging for food! Haha! What a mess! Oh! Brother
If you can get into the presence of Lord Supervisor, you will really be asking God to tell Buddha to burn incense!" The officer at the city head complained with a grimace.
What he said is true. Due to the impact of the war, the prosperity of Xiangyang City is no longer what it used to be, and their income has also been greatly affected!
At this time, more than a dozen soldiers had already climbed onto the top of the city.
Li Dingguo glanced at the city officer with a smile, but his hand was already tightly clasped on the handle of the knife.
Suddenly, he pointed toward the river in front of him and said loudly: "Brother, look, what's over there?"
The officer at the head of the city quickly turned his head to the south, wanting to find out!
But at this moment, the steel knife in Li Dingguo's hand was unsheathed like lightning, and with one blow, he cut off the officer's head!
"Brothers, take action!"
For a moment, there was chaos at the top of the city...