Volume 1 Little Yuanba Chapter 46 Temporary Escape from Lingyan
"We are all on your right, what about the left? Isn't it too weak?" Gu Da asked worriedly.
Li Dan did not blame him but looked at him with approval: "Don't worry, I have sent the rear battalion to support the right battalion. My left hand is thick enough to connect with them, no problem!"
After saying that, he turned his face and asked Huang Qin: "After passing Jiufeng, you follow us. If you don't care about life or death, shoot him!"
"Here!"
At the moment Li Dan arranged it, Sheng Huaien had quietly walked around to the bamboo forest behind the small village.
The sentry quickly reported back: "General, I counted about twenty people in total. Maybe there are still people in the house who haven't come out yet?"
"Even if there are people hiding in the house, there probably won't be many of them. How many people can fit in this short and small house?" Sheng Huai'en pointed with his riding crop:
"Surround them up and be quick, no one can escape. This is a reward of money!" All the officers and soldiers spread their wings and quickly closed down the hillside.
The leader of the sentry on the left wing turned around a woodshed and saw three corpses of a man and a woman lying on the ground.
The sentry chief was a native of Hengfeng. When he saw the villagers being killed, he couldn't help but cursed "Red Man" in the local dialect.
Unexpectedly, someone next to him immediately asked: "Who are you scolding?" It turned out to be a gangster who came here to defecate. Thinking that he was disliked by his accomplices, he looked back angrily, and was horrified to find that the other person was an officer.
The sentry commander didn't expect there was someone in the grass, and was startled. But after all, soldiers were trained to react quickly, so he immediately rushed forward with a strong step.
The gangster didn't have time to lift up his pants, so he grabbed the knife on the ground and pulled it back. Fortunately, the sentry commander was wearing a cloth armor, and the blade only scratched the hem of his battle skirt.
The commander didn't give him a chance to do anything else, and slashed his knife along the base of the back of his neck. Then he kicked the body down, and didn't care what was on his shoes. He led others not to rush into the front yard.
There were screams, metal collisions, and screams, but it was all over before even a cup of tea was needed.
The prisoner was dragged aside for interrogation, and soon a small flag came over to report: "Sir, the thief has been recruited.
There are 450 of them in total, and they are the vanguard. The bandit group of more than 1,500 is behind, and they are only half a day away from here!"
Sheng Huai'en was shocked, but he restrained himself from screaming. He turned around slowly: "Keep the tongue, and take care of the rest. Let's go down the mountain and attack him from both front and back!"
As he spoke, he stepped out of the low thatched hut. He heard a loud killing sound over there. He looked around and saw a group of jujube horses in front, leading hundreds of people into the enemy group from the east side.
For a moment, weapons flew randomly, ghosts cried and wolves howled. The hundred or so people instantly formed into a dozen small formations, gradually extending to the north. Behind them, a group of people riding mules fired arrows repeatedly, so that the bandits did not dare to come forward.
Sheng Huai'en understood it at a glance and immediately ordered: "Quick, rush down and block the road to the north. Don't let the bandits rush out!"
When Li Dan first rushed in, there were two or three people who dared to come up and block him, but they soon realized something was wrong. This young boy couldn't be touched. If he touched him, whatever he was holding would fly into the sky.
So everyone stepped back step by step, and Zao Liu kicked a few of them down. They were so frightened that they kept shouting: "Qingyi'er is powerful, get back!" Unexpectedly, when the west side shouted, a group of men jumped out and stabbed them in the back.
Seeing that their own people were in a mess, a few cronies escorted the leader of the group and escaped and walked north. Unexpectedly, they looked up and saw the officers and soldiers coming down the opposite slope. They suddenly collapsed to the ground in fear.
The right battalion had just received reinforcements from the rear battalion, and its morale immediately increased by 20%. Seeing that the bandits were in chaos and losing ground, Zhou Qin became energetic, grabbed a spear, waved his hand and shouted:
"Brothers, the bandits have been defeated. Charge forward and you will be rewarded, life or death!" After saying that, he took the lead and rushed forward to stab one person.
The bandits were panicking when they couldn't see their leader, and the so-called rabble appeared. A few small leaders turned around and left first, while the rest were in a great rout.
The people in the front were frightened when they saw the sky behind them. In a hurry, they shouted: "It's down, it's down!" Within a moment, dozens of people had fallen to their knees.
Li Dan ordered everyone to intercept and arrest him.
He didn't care how many heads he had cut off, so he hurriedly took his guards and messengers to find a high place to stand, and then sent the messenger to tell Yang Yi the news, and asked if Song Xiaoniu would repay him.
Then let the right battalion collect the dead and wounded of your own people, and the rear battalion is responsible for detaining the prisoners.
Send another message to Xiao Yingzheng of Zuoying, asking him to lead the team to Lingyan Temple first, guard southward and occupy the high ground on the west side.
Finally, let the rear battalion move forward past the right battalion that is being tidied up and enter the original left camp section.
While he was busy, Sheng Huaien came over on horseback with five soldiers. "Haha, I haven't been this happy for a long time!" He jumped off the horse and ran uphill happily:
"Sanlang, there are 450 people in total. We captured more than 160, and there are more than 200 lying on the ground. We only missed less than 30 people. What a victory!"
"Has their leader been caught?"
"I didn't catch it, you nameless rat. But I took off the head!" Sheng Huai'en replied with a smile: "A waste, only the head is of some use."
"Send two carts and ten civilians back to Xing'an. How to deal with the prisoners?" Li Dan looked at the blood all over his body and thought that this guy had been holding back for so long, and he finally saw some meat today.
"Send it to Lin Baihu, or take it back when he returns." Mr. Shengba was obviously not interested in the living ones, so he waved:
"I want to tell you something." Then he whispered a few words into Li Dan's ear, and he suddenly became serious.
"Brother Sheng, this news... did the leader confess it before he died?"
"It's not him, it's more or less the same. It was the little boss he left in the village who recruited him."
"That's too bad. We can't stay here for long. Sir, we have to evacuate immediately!"
"Where to retreat?"
"I have sent people to Lingyan Temple to investigate. The brothers are tired, the wounded need to be treated, and the prisoners need to be interrogated. We can only stay at Lingyan Temple tonight. Only by relying on the temple can we be safe.
When those 1,500 bandits come and find out that the entire front line has been wiped out, they will definitely seek revenge on us.
This place is open and there is no danger to defend. Unlike Lingyan Temple, it is at least sandwiched between two mountains. There is also a pond to the east to rely on. The terrain is much better than here!
Let's go over there and guard. Your Excellency will take three hundred soldiers to join Lin Baihu and wait for foreign aid for us. Only in this way can we have a chance of winning!"
Sheng Huaien thought for a moment and looked at the battlefield and the sky. He knew that if he did not stay at Lingyan Temple at this time, if his opponent pursued him closely or ambushed him halfway, he might be in danger of turning victory into defeat.
Although the civilians resisted once, it was difficult to resist the second time, not to mention that this time the main force came up to the number of 1,500. They couldn't take risks, so this was the only option.
So he nodded in agreement and said: "It seems that's the only way. It's hard for Ziyuan to have such a plan in a hurry. Okay! Without further ado, you lead the team first, I will let the two hundred officers and soldiers hold back, and we will go to Lingyan Temple immediately!"
"
When General Sheng and Li Dan rode to Lingyan Temple, they stood at the mountain gate and looked around, and they all said: "What a great place, the monk has a good sense!"
The two left their horses to the soldiers and ran to the east and west mountains in person. Li Dan smiled and said:
"This place is good, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Sir, you see, there are open areas from Antou Mountain to Leiwu in the north. The Piyunfeng Mountain behind is high and densely forested. It is difficult to detect moving enemies when moving troops.
Sir, feel free to go find Lin Baihu to join us. I can stay here for three to five days without any problem. When the enemy is exhausted and exhausted, we can attack from both inside and outside, and great things can be accomplished!"
Seeing that he was confident, Sheng Huaien was relieved. There was not much time, so the two of them immediately went down the mountain to make arrangements.
It turns out that this area is all covered with Danxia landforms (Li Dan didn’t explain it, and I guess people in Shanda were not interested in hearing it). The hills and peaks stood tall and the red walls were steep.
Standing at the mountain gate and looking around, the terrain is high and open, and it can be seen that this official road was originally a riverbed that lasted for many years.
During the high water period, the flood water converges from the mountains on both sides and floods the valley, scouring the river channel and the cliffs on both sides; during the dry season, the water surface drops and the river bed is exposed, allowing vehicles to still pass by.
In the gaps between the steep cliffs on the south, east and west sides of the riverbed (official road) road, there is a gentle gravel slope extending like a tongue.
There is a stone archway built along the slope at the waterline. The faint traces on it are the four characters "Lingyan Ancient Temple". The water stains on the stone show that it has been here for many years and has seen the water rise countless times.
fall.
Not far up the road, there is a mountain gate sandwiched between cliffs. It is also built with stone legs, just like a pass. There are more than a dozen families scattered on the east slope of the mountain gate, called Lingquanzhuang.
Walking through the village along the gravel path in front of the village, you can see the Heavenly King's Hall surrounded by broken walls behind the woods after going uphill.
It seemed that this small three-room tile-roofed hall looked more like the main entrance of a temple. When the young novice monk holding a broom at the door saw the officer approaching, he turned around and jumped into the gap in the broken wall.
However, Mr. Sheng did not enter the temple. He came down the mountain road and went directly back to the archway, then hurriedly formed a team to go eastward.
Li Dan invited all the people in the camp to go under the cave of the mountain gate and explained the matter, and then he and Sheng also told everyone their general thoughts.
At this time, when the battle had just been won and morale was high, no one was willing to speak cheaply. They all said that we also had thousands of people, so what should we fear if the two sides were equally powerful?
Li Dan then deployed the right battalion to suffer greater damage. This time eleven people were killed and nearly thirty wounded, so he arranged for them to defend the south side where the terrain was more complicated.
There are many ponds there like stars dotted among the hills. If the enemy comes to attack, it will be difficult to use their troops. The right battalion only needs to guard the west pond behind the temple and the entrance to the southeast.
The rear camp is responsible for the topographically advantageous Xishan Mountain. Not only is the location high, but the cliffs are towering, there are many caves and grottoes that can be used, and the trees are dense. With hundreds of people there, it is almost difficult to observe from the outside.
Ma Jiu led the escort team, Gu Da and Yang Yi teams, and the two banner officers and soldiers left behind to guard Shanmen and Lingquanzhuang. Huang Qin's archery team also strengthened him.
Li Dan specially deployed the front camp in Dongshan. Although the terrain here is not too high, it is a powerful backing and reinforcement for Lingquanzhuang.
The other side of the east mountain is adjacent to a series of reservoirs. You only need to prevent the enemy from bypassing the reservoirs to sneak attack the entrance.
Zuoying was ordered to guard the temple, because Li Dan ordered all the carts carrying goods to be gathered in the temple, and Zuoying wanted to protect the safety of the baggage.
But when you look through the gap in the wall next to it, you can see that this "temple" is not at all like the densely packed, majestic temples you imagined.
There is actually a wide open space behind the Tianwang Hall. There is no main hall except Sophora japonica!
He turned around twice in confusion, looked at Xiao Wanhe who was also surprised and said with a smile:
"Excuse me (Xiao Wanhe's pseudonym), could it be that the old monk knew we were coming and cast a spell to hide the Bodhisattva and the main hall?"
"How is this possible! But..., since it is a temple, how can it not have a temple?" Xiao Wanhe was also confused. When he turned around, he saw a monk walking over from a distance:
"Well, since the monk is here, there should still be a palace."
"Ignore him, just ask people to expand the courtyard wall and gather all the vehicles in to form a car formation. I'll go meet the monk."
Xiao Wanhe agreed and walked away quickly, and Li Dan turned around to greet the monk, clasped his hands together and saluted: "Master is from Lingyan Temple? I don't know how to call him?"
The monk then chanted Buddha's name and replied: "The young monk Tongzhi will temporarily serve as the abbot of this temple. The donor, as a pure land of Buddhism, also hopes that it is better to put down your swords and weapons before entering the temple."