On a small mound about two miles away from Yongji Canal, a dozen black figures were busy nervously. They set up a large fire crow. The fire crow was made of pine and covered with paint. kerosene.
The beef tendons were tied between two big trees, and the fire crow flew out by ejection.
Of course, the accuracy of this crude ejection device was very poor. If it were ejected from a large stone cannon, the effect would be much better, but they had no choice. A large stone cannon weighed several kilograms and there was no way to transport it.
"I'm coming!"
Several men in black shouted in a low voice.
I saw a huge ship appearing on the Yongji Canal two miles away. It was very clear under the moonlight. It was the 5,000-stone ship that Li Ye was riding on. It stood out among all the 1,000-stone warships.
"Ready to launch!"
More than a dozen men in black struggled to pull the fire crow backwards, pulling it to the extreme. Another person flicked the fire stick and ignited the fire crow directly, and the fire crow burned instantly.
"put!"
More than a dozen men in black let go at the same time, and the huge fire crow rose into the sky and flew towards the ship on the Yongji Canal.
"Quickly retreat!"
A group of men in black didn't even bother to dismantle the tendons and fled westward in a hurry. They knew very well that the Tang Army's cavalry would immediately spot them as soon as the fire flashed.
Indeed, the moment the fire ignited, they were discovered by the Tang army. More than a hundred Tang soldiers turned their horses and ran towards the hill at high speed.
At the same time, the blazing fire crow flew across the sky and flew towards the five thousand stone ship, but its accuracy was too bad. The fire crow passed dozens of steps in front of the ship and fell into the soil on the other side of the river, burning blazingly.
There was a sudden commotion among the escort cavalry, and even Li Ye was alarmed. He got up and walked to the window, just in time to see the fire crow burning on the ground.
This feels a bit like Bolangsha's assassination, except that Bolangsha threw a forty-pound iron awl, and today he shot a burning fire crow.
At this time, there was a noise in the distance. Li Ye walked out of the hatch and looked into the distance. There was a small hill two or three miles away, which was rare in the vast Hebei plain.
Not long after, the cavalry caught several men in black. They couldn't run fast and were overtaken by the Tang army's cavalry.
After a while, the cavalryman Hu Ben Zhonglang put He Jing on the boat and reported, "Your Highness, they have admitted that they are Tian Chengsi's spies!"
"How do they know I'm on this ship?"
"They don't know. They just want to attack the largest ship. They don't know that His Highness is on board."
That's it. Li Ye nodded, "This is a small problem, don't delay, keep moving forward at full speed!"
The sneak attack was just a minor episode, but it also indirectly reflected Tian Chengsi's nervousness. He sent a large number of scouts to explore the Tang army's movements.
At this time, Tian Chengsi's 100,000 troops were stationed in Changlu County. Changlu County is located at the intersection of Zhangshui River and Yongji Canal. The transportation location is extremely important, and it is still about three hundred miles away from Li Ye's fleet.
Tian Chengsi had already received the news that 200,000 Tang soldiers were attacking him in two groups. Although he still had 120,000 troops, this was his capital, and he abandoned Weizhou and other bases and retreated north just to Save your strength and let the Huihe army and the Tang army consume each other first, and then he will come out to pick the fruits at the end.
But now the Huihe army has not yet arrived, but the Tang army has been advancing step by step. What should we do?
In the past two days, Tian Chengsi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, restless in sleeping and eating.
At this time, his nephew Tian Yue advised: "Your Majesty, since the Tang army is divided into two groups, we can concentrate all our forces to fight one of them, and maybe we can hope to defeat the other side!"
Tian Chengsi shook his head, "The leader of this expedition is the Regent Li Ye. He has experienced hundreds of battles. How could he give you a chance to defeat them one by one? Look at the intelligence. He and Guo Ziyi's army are only fifty miles apart. As long as one
If the army is attacked, another army will come and cut off our retreat. This is actually a trap!"
"But we have been unwilling to fight and have been retreating. We are too passive. How about my nephew leading 30,000 cavalry to sneak attack the enemy fleet at night, burn the enemy fleet, and make them lose their logistical equipment. Then Li Ye will naturally retreat."
Next to him, Wang Lun also advised: "Your Majesty, General Tian Yue is right. If we keep retreating, we will not only lose our territory, but it will also seriously affect morale. It is better to take the initiative to boost morale. A night attack on the fleet is a good plan.
Even if it fails, the cavalry can break out and the loss will not be too great, but if it succeeds, Li Ye really wants to withdraw his troops!"
Tian Chengsi was convinced. He thought for a moment and then agreed, "You can give it a try!"
Tian Yue was overjoyed and immediately clasped his fists and said: "I will definitely live up to the prince's trust in my humble position!"
That night, Tian Yue led 30,000 cavalry southward along the Yongji Canal.
When Wang Lun returned to his camp, his own soldiers came forward to report, "The second master is here!"
Wang Lun was startled, why is his brother Wang Wei here?
As soon as he thought about it, he vaguely guessed that it might have something to do with the Cui family.
Brother Wang Wei's wife is the daughter of the Cui family. Although she is not a legitimate daughter, she was indeed born in the Cui family of Qinghe.
Wang Lun walked into the side tent, and a man stood up and said: "Brother!"
Wang Lun waved his hand, "You came at the right time, sit down!"
The person who came was none other than Wang Lun's younger brother Wang Wei. He was a scholar and was currently the head of the Cui family.
Of course, he was entrusted by Cui Ze to meet Wang Lun.
"Did the head of the family ask you to come?" Wang Lun asked again.
Wang Wei shook his head, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Wang Lun, "Look at it!"
Wang Lun received the letter and was shocked. It was actually written to him by the Regent Li Ye.
"What's going on?"
"The head of the family went to see the regent and mentioned you. The head of the family hopes that you will find your way back. The regent will give you a chance. If you can seize the opportunity, the regent will pardon you."
Wang Lun's face turned red and white. He opened Li Ye's letter with trembling hands. There were only a few words in it. If he could assist the court and make atonement, Li Ye would pardon himself.
Wang Lun lowered his head and remained silent for a moment. Of course he knew that the huge dilemma Tian Chengsi was currently facing was not that there was not enough food, but that Tian Chengsi had made a major strategic mistake.
He actually gave up his foundation and retreated north to Cangzhou. Tian Chengsi wanted to let the Huihe army fight the Tang army in a decisive battle, and he came to reap the benefits.
But his soldiers did not think so. They all believed that Tian Chengsi was afraid of fighting and retreated again and again. In the end, hundreds of thousands of troops were trapped in a sparsely populated small county in Cangzhou, which caused a collapse in morale.
Now the entire morale is extremely low, and it is impossible to fight against the Tang army.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Lun raised his head and asked, "Are there any letters that you haven't given to me?"
"Do you accept it?" Wang Wei asked.
Wang Lun sighed, "I have no choice."
Wang Wei took out another piece of paper and handed it to him. This was Li Ye's task for Wang Lun.
Wang Lun looked at the note and saw that it was really a vicious plan to kill three people with one move.
He pondered for a moment and said: "I understand. In addition, you should rush to the Tang army immediately and tell the regent that General Tian Yue will lead 30,000 cavalry to attack the fleet!"