There was a little confusion when the army left the camp.
When Xiao Fu was not paying attention, he found a personal attendant and whispered a few words. The personal attendant understood, first pretended to pack his things, and then found an opportunity to quietly leave the camp.
But he was unlucky and bumped into a group of people just after leaving the camp.
"Who are you?" Kang Yanxiao pointed his horse whip and asked condescendingly.
"I am Zheng Mu, the commander of the camp, on the order of General Zhang Shensi, I went to the Zuoying of Bozhou to deliver the order."
Zhang Shensi is the formation officer, and the garrison and rotation of each army is really under his control. But at this time, it is not impossible to send orders to a village where a local hero is garrisoned, but he doesn't even have a horse.
Kang Yanxiao looked at him carefully for a while, and when Zheng Mu felt his heart go crazy, he nodded and said, "Go and come back quickly."
"As ordered." Zheng Mu was granted amnesty and left in a hurry.
Kang Yanxiao quickly caught up with the large army.
The broad post road was full of dark figures. They walked in a hurry and very fast, with uncontrollable nervousness in their expressions, but also a sense of joy. The battle was finally over, and everyone could finally go home.
There was nothing particularly heavy on the carriage. When the troops were withdrawing and running away, they definitely couldn't take all the pots and jars with them. Occasionally, some grain trucks passed by, and the carriages were full.
The draft animals had coins in their mouths and looked a little agitated. The drivers carefully paid attention to the condition of the horses and mules, fearing that they would go crazy.
The few rangers were scattered. They wouldn't go too far, they just needed to make sure that no enemy suddenly came close.
Kang Yanxiao looked left and right, suddenly doubting whether he was doing the right thing.
It is only three days' journey from Daying to Xuzhou.
Three days is not enough to accomplish anything. The Xia army may have just built the pontoon bridge, and the large group of troops began to cross the river. Even if they are more agile, they have completed the crossing, so what? The Kuang Wei army has already reached Xuzhou.
Kang Yanxiao thought silently while receiving the news from the scouts.
In fact, it doesn't matter. If Xia Jun didn't stop them, they would have successfully escaped back to Bianzhou. If they were stopped, just keep an eye on Xiao Fu. He must have a way.
Old Xiao is really good at acting, but I don’t know when he got on the pirate ship. I heard that Shao Shude has a close relationship with the Xiao family, and there is a female servant of the Xiao family around him. Xiao Fu is also from the Nanliang House of the Xiao family in Lanling. The problem should be there
it's here.
Shao Shude wants to conquer the world, so it seems understandable that Lao Xiao will join him. But the Xiao family should not be able to produce a queen. This magical family specializes in training wives and concubines for heroes of all walks of life, and they are also very capable. Maybe in a few years, Xiao will
Who can say for sure if the family can produce another queen in the new dynasty?
"Stop and rest for half an hour." The ordering rider rode past and shouted the order.
The sergeants who had been running for two hours breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.
An officer came over to distribute water and food, so everyone took the time to eat.
Kang Yanxiao searched silently for a long time and finally saw Xiao Fu sitting aside.
Xiao Fu'an was sitting there, neither sad nor happy, calm and composed. If someone who didn't know the inside story saw it, they would really praise him for not being in a panic.
There are two military officers sitting next to Xiao Fu, both of whom are auxiliary officers who guard grain, beans, equipment and various supplies all year round. Judging from the way they whisper, Xiao Fu has done a good job of winning over him.
Kang Yanxiao sneered, sat down and ate the cake.
******
Li Tangbin received the news on the morning of the first day of May.
Xiao Fu's envoy got a mule from somewhere and hid a small boat in the reeds. After struggling to cross the river, he went straight to the Xia Army camp. Well, he was lucky. He was caught by the rangers, but he was not injured.
Can you believe this news? If it is a trap and the army crosses the river and is attacked halfway across the river, the losses will be relatively large.
But Xiao Fu is not an ordinary person. After listening to the people from Wangsi and Datong Horse Company as guarantees for him, Li Tangbin had no hesitation.
What's more, he also has some doubts in his heart. Last night, two scouts were trapped on the other side of the river and failed to come back. This shows that the Liang people have been patrolling the river bank very closely and hard recently, which in itself reflects some facts.
"Send the order, the strategic army selects a battalion of soldiers, prepares ships, and waits for our military orders." Li Tangbin ordered.
"As ordered." Guan Kaiyun left the camp and went to make arrangements.
Boating across the river is more dangerous and confusing, and the transport capacity is still very low, far less than that of a pontoon bridge. Therefore, it is completely risky. If the enemy troops on the other side are few, there will be no problem. If there are many, the fun will be great. Noisy.
People gathered on the river beach and were immediately driven into the river by waves of people and fed to the fish and turtles.
Li Tangbin and his entourage rushed to the river bank in person.
Some rangers have already crossed the river to the other side. They have chosen open areas, far away from the enemy camps. According to the past rhythm of attack and defense by both sides, some of the Liang Jun rangers will report back at this time, and the closest group will soon be there.
The sergeants came in formation, ready to fight.
However, after Xia Jun's cavalry landed ashore, they did not meet Liang Jun's companions.
The generals and subordinates behind Li Tangbin were talking a lot. Everyone could see that the main force of the Liang people on the other side was no longer there. Otherwise, why would this happen?
Li Tangbin still stood there without issuing any orders.
The rangers began to gather in twos and threes, and after a while, dozens of riders gathered together. Under the leadership of the officers, they headed towards Liang Jun's camp.
Li Tangbin got on his horse and headed south. A group of people followed him and galloped along the river bank.
The rangers approached the camp where the Kuang Guards were stationed.
There are many flags and flags in the rebel camp, there are sergeants on duty on the walls of the camp, and even the sergeants who go out to collect firewood are as usual, nothing unusual.
The Rangers said hello and rushed towards the woodcutter thieves. However, they saw dozens of people immediately surrounding the carriage in a circle, with bows, swords and guns in their hands. They were well-trained and cooperated with each other tacitly. There was no help at all.
Does he look like a soldier or a civilian?
The rangers stopped outside Liang's chariot formation and were in no rush to attack.
The thieves didn't move, staring at each other.
After waiting for half an hour, there was no movement in Liang Jun's camp. Logically speaking, it would be time for sergeants to come out of the camp to drive away these wandering horses.
But no, nothing.
The team turned around and gave some instructions, and soon several riders left, ran to the river bank, and took out their flags to signal.
"Pah!" Li Tangbin slapped his fist and shouted: "Close the door!"
"The general is here!" Guan Kairun rode his horse and squeezed in from behind.
"Cross the river!"
"As you command!"
The order was quickly issued, and the five hundred soldiers who had been prepared for a long time put on their armor and boarded the boat and rowed towards the other side.
"Build a pontoon bridge immediately." Li Tangbin ordered again.
Soon, drums rumbled in the camp. A large group of auxiliary soldiers poured out, followed by many craftsmen and sailors, preparing to build a pontoon bridge.
If we include the other two pontoon bridges that were built upstream and downstream yesterday, this time the Xia army will have three pontoon bridges to cross over to pursue the thieves.
The 500 soldiers of the Jinglue Army arrived on the other side of the river in two batches, and there was no one to stop them the whole way.
The sailor rowed the boat back and began to pick up the soldiers of the second and third battalions.
There is no doubt that the Kuang Wei troops have retreated, probably last night.
The messenger quickly left the camp and ran to different places.
Li Tangbin's order was very clear: Scout the situation on the other side. If the thieves have retreated, cross the river immediately, as long as you can cross.
******
The people of Changshe County were mobilized urgently, and they were busy logging, transporting, and digging trenches.
This place is located in West Wuli of Changshe County. On the left side of the post road are criss-crossing ditches and fields, and on the right side are villages and woods.
The auxiliary soldiers of the Wuwei Army demolished all the houses and used the bricks, stones and wood to build camps.
The highest instruction of the King of Xia was to set up a stronghold on the road. Lu Huaizhong, the envoy of the Wuwei Army, did not dare to neglect and supervised it personally.
"Zhuge Liang of Shu came out of Qishan, and Wei sent Zhang He to supervise the army. He refused Liang and put his horse in a street pavilion. He blocked the Nanshan Mountain by the side and did not go down to occupy the city. He cut off its base, attacked and defeated it." Lu Huaizhong rode a horse with a shoulder height of ten meters.
The horse with more than four palms pointed to the camp that was about to be completed and said: "There was a better place before, but there was lack of water, so I didn't take it. You should remember it."
Following him were teenagers, Lu Huaizhong's nephew. For the great cause of King Xia and for the peace of the world, Lu Huaizhong also worked very hard and had already taken his nephew on an expedition.
"I set up this stronghold as a highway. If thieves and soldiers come, they will not be able to bypass it." Lu Huaizhong added: "The Art of War says, 'Don't stop when you return to the army.' If the thieves are eager to go home, Pang Shigu must have boosted their morale and wanted to invite our army to fight.
At this time, I refused to fight and allowed him to insult and provoke me. This stalemate lasted for several days. The thieves were afraid of the pursuers and decided to attack the stronghold together. As long as we block his most ferocious offensive, the thieves will be defeated."
"Grandpa, what if we fight with him in the field?" asked the eldest son Lu Jingrong.
After finishing speaking, he was a little unconvinced and said: "In the past, Zhang Ren was willing to build the Sanshou surrender city to defend against the Turks. He did not build the urn city and the enemy's fighting equipment, and encouraged the soldiers to fight in the field to defeat the enemy. We should admire this warrior and kill the enemy in battle.
Die without regrets."
Lu Huaizhong laughed. If he hadn't read so many books over the years, his son would have passed the exam.
He knew this. After Zhang Renyuan built the Sanshou surrender city, others asked him why he didn't build an urn city and why he didn't prepare various tools that would help defend the city.
Zhang Renyuan replied: "The important thing is to attack, and it is not advisable to retreat. If the enemy comes, we should fight together. Looking back at Wangcheng, we still have to kill them. There is no point in defending, because they have the desire to retreat."
It means that warriors must have the spirit of active attack and cannot always think about defense. When the enemy comes, go out of the city to fight with them in the field. Anyone who dares to look back at the city will be killed with a single sword. You have prepared a urn and various defensive equipment.
, but instead made the soldiers want to retreat.
Later, when Chang Yuankai was the commander-in-chief of Shuofang Army, he renovated Sanshoujiang City and built Wengcheng. Because of this, people at the time compared him with Zhang Renyuan. After everyone discussed, they respected Zhang Renyuan's bravery more and despised Chang Yuan.
During the Tang Dynasty, many people chose to go out of the city to fight powerful enemies in the wild even though they were clearly outnumbered. This may be due to this trend.
"Do you think grandpa is a coward?" Lu Huaizhong said deliberately.
Lu Jingrong repeatedly said he did not dare, but looking at his face, he was still very unconvinced.
Lu Huaizhong was not angry but happy. A young man should have such a brave spirit that is not afraid of death, and the courage to attack the superior enemy. Even if this kind of courage gradually wears away as he gets older, there will always be a lot left.
Martial ethics is the most precious thing for every martial artist, and it is their biggest reliance on this bowl of rice.
"You think I don't dare to fight with thieves in the wild?" Lu Huaizhong sighed and said, "If there were any other battles, I would have gone up to kill people with my sword. But this time is different. I can't afford to fail, and the king doesn't want to see it either.
An accident happened. Pang Shigu must die! His tens of thousands of people must be annihilated! No accidents can happen."
After hearing this, Lu Jingrong understood his father's painstaking efforts and immediately bowed and apologized.
Lu Huaizhong stroked his shoulder with satisfaction and said, "Go and see the camp."
The regulations of the camp are not small. It has far exceeded the post road and occupied the surrounding villages and farmland.
The trench has been dug, with a bottom width of one foot and two feet, an opening of one foot and five feet, and a depth of one foot. The trench walls on the inside of the trench have also been piled up, and the civilian workers are compacting them with force.
Someone laid iron caltrops inside the trench wall, and the trench was filled with iron sticks, which looked scary.
A little further away, there are auxiliary troops camouflaging pits and arranging obstacles such as carbine rifles. Cavalry rifles can not only defend against cavalry, but also hinder the advancement of infantry.
In one day's time, almost everything was completed. The Wuwei Army had nine thousand soldiers, all of whom were capable of fighting. Pang Shigu had no choice but to step on their corpses.