But the most serious problem for them is not the meaning of the signal, but the direction from which it came - that is the cave where the villagers hid before and is now occupied by the Tenglong Legion.
Long Qie and the three looked at each other without saying anything, but they all knew what was going on.
I'm afraid something happened to the brother hiding in the cave.
No matter how the brothers over there were exposed, the only thing they have to consider now is to save people.
At this time, a soldier from the Tenglong Legion hurried over to report:
"Report!"
"Vice General Cao Jiu is surrounded!"
The three of them were not surprised, but their expressions were ugly.
The soldier who summoned the messenger continued, "Previously, a group of Qin soldiers searched the cave where they were hiding. Lieutenant General Cao Jiu was unable to retreat in time. He was worried that his traces would be exposed, so he decided to intercept and kill the enemy before he could report it. Unexpectedly, he still made some mistakes, and the enemy issued a warning.
."
When this soldier was sent, Cao Jiu had not been exposed. He was only sent to report to Long Qie that Cao Jiu planned to take action.
However, since the enemy's warning signal sounded, it meant that Cao Jiu's interception and killing operation failed, so let's just explain it together.
After hearing the report, Long Qie did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "Prepare to gather people and rescue people as soon as possible."
This matter cannot be delayed at all, otherwise they will have to face more and more Qin soldiers.
………………
At the same time, on the other side, outside the camp of the armor-piercing soldiers, Zhong Limei hurried over on horseback.
Of course, his target was not Wang Li's camp, but Zhang Han, who was already waiting for him outside the camp.
When Zhong Limei came to Wang Li's camp at this time, he was summoned by Zhang Han.
After seeing Zhang Han, Zhong Limei immediately stopped his galloping horse, then turned over and dismounted to salute:
"General Zhang Han!"
To be honest, he wasn't sure why Zhang Han called him here.
According to the previous discussion, although Wang Li is a general in the empire, he may not have good intentions towards them.
Is Zhang Han planning to make contact with the other party?
Zhang Han turned around and looked at the camp that was still being set up not far away. With an inexplicable smile on his face, he asked:
"Do you know Wang Li?"
Zhong Limei shook his head decisively.
Zhang Han hurriedly made a gesture to follow him before he spoke, and then headed towards Wang Li's camp.
Upon seeing this, Zhongli immediately followed, and then continued to answer:
"I have only heard the name of this imperial general. I have never met him, nor have I known him."
Before being promoted by Gu Xun, he was just an unappreciated mid-level officer and an absolutely marginalized figure in the imperial military.
There are many people like him in the entire empire. To ordinary people, he is certainly a high-ranking figure, but for a general like Wang Li, who has a prominent family background, there is not much difference between him and ordinary people, and it is difficult for the two sides to have any intersection.
Zhang Han smiled after hearing this and said, "You can see him later."
The two of them soon arrived at the gate of the camp. Zhang Han probably sent someone to inform the armor-piercing soldiers in advance that a soldier was waiting outside the camp.
When Wang Li's army first arrived, although a vanguard force was sent out to clean up the nearby area, the camp had not yet been repaired and had just been built in prototype.
It's fine for giving soldiers a place to stay, but it doesn't have any defensive capabilities.
Normally, Wang Li would not engage in such reckless operations, but the situation he was facing now was very special, so there was no need to be too cautious.
This is the territory of the empire, and the only enemies of his armor-piercing soldiers are farmers, but even if the farmers are brave enough, they will not dare to attack his troops.
Not to mention that the farmers are still fighting among themselves and have no time to care.
He could have let his men slowly build the camp.
It's not that Wang Li underestimates the enemy, it's that the enemy doesn't come to the fore.
How can the Jianghu people be compared with the professional soldiers of the Empire?
To put it mildly, the peasant family is called the Jianghu Gang. To put it crudely, the peasant family is just a rabble and is really not worth mentioning.
Inside the Chinese army camp, Wang Li's deputy general was reporting to him on the status of the reconnaissance troops sent out previously, mainly talking about Cao Jiu and his group.
Wang Li's purpose was just to clear the area, but he didn't expect to be able to block the rebels, which was an unexpected gain.
I don't mind the amount of military merit I get for free, no matter how much or how little.
After listening to the report, Wang Li was about to give an order when a soldier walked in and reported:
"General, Shadow Secret Guard General Zhang Han wants to see you."
"Oh?" Wang Li raised his head, looked away from the map in his hand, and muttered in surprise, "It's pretty fast..."
Then he shouted to the soldier, "Please come in."
After the soldiers went out, Wang Li glanced at the deputy general, who immediately understood and withdrew from the camp, leaving Wang Li alone waiting for Zhang Han's arrival.
Soon, Zhang Han and Zhong Limei passed through the simple camp and arrived at the Chinese military camp.
Wang Li was a little surprised when he saw two people coming. He didn't ask any more questions just now, he thought it was just Zhang Han and you.
"Who is this?"
Zhong Limei cupped his fists and saluted, and introduced himself, "The last general, Zhong Limei, please see the general."
"Oh, you are Zhong Limei!" Wang Li muttered with emotion, and walked to Zhong Limei at the same time, "I have heard of your name before, Zhuifeng Arc Arrow, right?"
"He is the last general." Zhongli replied in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.
Wang Li smiled and said, "I wanted to transfer you to my hands before, but it's a pity that the Imperial Master has a keen eye for people and let him take the lead, haha!"
"Yes, he does look like an imperial soldier!"
Wang Li's attitude was very polite and his tone was very natural, making people feel no sense of alienation.
This surprised Zhong Limei. He thought Wang Li's attitude would be more distant.
Moreover, Wang Li gave him a very good feeling, like a standard military aristocrat, with arrogance, etiquette, and the toughness and toughness of a soldier.
Overall, it suits his taste.
However, he would not let down his guard against Wang Li just because of this.
Zhang Han said with a smile at this time, "Before, it was Zhong Limei who was responsible for escorting the Yinghuo Stone."
Zhongli heard the words and hurriedly apologized, "The general was incompetent and lost..."
Wang Li raised his hand to stop him from continuing.
The loss of the Stone of Fire is not a problem for him, but a good thing, which allows him to attack the farmers without any scruples.
Naturally, he would not blame Zhong Limei, who was valued by Gu Xun, for this, so there was no need for the other party to express his apology.
Wang Li turned to Zhang Han and asked in a subtle tone:
"Speaking of the Stone of Fire, I heard... there was some friction between the Shadow Guard and Luo Wang in East County?"
"There are some misunderstandings. I didn't expect the general to know about it. It's really funny." Zhang Han replied calmly, without revealing the truth.
Wang Li snorted coldly when he heard this, and his words turned towards Zhang Han:
"Humph! We are all soldiers on the battlefield, doing the hard work of licking blood with the blade of a knife..."
While talking, he walked to the bronze decorations in the tent and slapped it angrily, "What I hate most is that these civil servants are hiding on the other side of Xianyang to watch the fire, but they still like to point fingers."
Zhang Han and Zhang Han both had doubts about Wang Li's remarks, but they didn't show it.
Zhang Han responded with a smile, "That's right."
Wang Li continued to criticize, targeting Zhao Gao, the leader of Luowang:
"Especially that Zhao Gao, who is just an aide in charge of carriages and horses for His Majesty the Emperor. He has received some favors. How can he compare to you and me who have gone through life and death and accumulated military merits and rewards by accumulating heads one by one!"
As soon as these words came out, Zhong Limei couldn't help but lower his head.
He was keeping his expression tight.
General Zhang Han came from a grassroots background, and he was able to reach his current position only by accumulating merit little by little, but you, Wang Li...
Why didn't you say you were not interested in military glory?
The smile at the corner of Zhang Han's mouth was also a little out of shape. Fortunately, he couldn't see the problem yet and nodded in response:
"In wartime, the military naturally comes first. Now that the empire has unified the world, it is inevitable that more emphasis will be placed on civil rule."
"The net is really in full swing right now, and others... have to avoid its edge!"
Zhang Han's expression when he said this was very subtle, as if he was conveying a certain attitude to Wang Li.
Wang Li showed an equally subtle smile when he saw this, seeming to have accepted the attitude expressed by Zhang Han.
Overall, it's like a friend deal of sorts.
"Don't worry, I have the final say on this territory of East County!"
"What's more, the war isn't over yet."
Wang Li's words made it even more obvious that the two of them had reached a deal.
Zhong Limei couldn't quite understand what was going on. Fortunately, it was not his turn to speak, so he didn't understand.
Wang Li then patted Zhang Han on the shoulder, as if the relationship between the two was very close:
"Brother Zhang Han, would you like to come and enjoy hunting together?"
"Hunting?" Zhang Han expressed confusion - he really didn't know what was going on.
Did Wang Li find any target to attack?
Wang Li laughed and simply explained, "The unexpected surprise that my subordinates just discovered!"
"Come!"
After saying that, he walked directly outside the camp without giving Zhang and Han a chance to answer.
Zhang Han naturally would not refuse and asked Zhong Limei to follow him.
………………
In the mountains and forests, a large number of armor-piercing soldiers were gathering, and at the destination they were heading to, many soldiers had already gathered around them.
Long Qie's deputy general Cao Jiu was huddled together with dozens of Tenglong Legion soldiers, defending with all their strength.
They can't do anything except defend. Not to mention the huge difference in numbers, the opponents are still full of crossbowmen.
And because they were unexpectedly besieged, they didn't even have horses as cavalry, they were just heavy armored infantry at most.
In the mountain and forest terrain, they fought hard with the powerful crossbowmen.
Fortunately, many of them were equipped with large shields, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to defend, and they would just close their eyes and wait for death.
Even so, in the face of the continuous rain of arrows from the armor-piercing soldiers, Cao Jiu's soldiers are constantly reducing their numbers, and it is estimated that they will not last long.
The empire's ace army has the inherent characteristics of a strong army such as strict military discipline, well-equipped, well-trained, etc., but unlike the Golden Fire Cavalry and the Pingyang Heavy Armored Soldiers, the equipment of the Armor-Piercing Soldiers is particularly sophisticated!
They are equipped with the latest powerful hand crossbows carefully designed and manufactured by the Gongshu family. They have many advantages such as easy portability, continuous firing, and the accompanying arrows are light and easy to carry.
In addition, there are various other high-end powerful equipment.
Of course, the power is first-class, and the cost is also first-class, otherwise the entire empire would not be able to support such a 30,000-strong crossbow force.
When it comes to frontal annihilation battles, the armor-piercing soldiers who have fought many battles can almost always destroy the enemy quickly and with overwhelming force - if not, the situation will probably be the other way around.
Now it's up to them to destroy everything.
What's even worse is that more armor-piercing soldiers are coming.
Fortunately, at this time, Cao Jiu's reinforcements also arrived.
Long Qie, Ji Bu, and Yingbu each led a team of cavalry and inserted themselves into the formation of the armor-piercing soldiers from three directions at the same time. By taking advantage of surprise, they directly tore apart the connection between them and disrupted their relationship.
Formation.
This greatly reduced Cao Jiu's pressure, but he still couldn't escape.
When facing strong crossbowmen, you cannot directly expose your back to the opponent to escape.
I want to escape unless someone cuts me off.
But their manpower simply does not support this operation.
Long Qie and the other three also thought of this, so one of them was responsible for digging directly into the deepest part of the Hundred Battles Armor-Piercing Soldiers formation and replacing Cao Jiu.
The three of them have outstanding personal strength. As long as Cao Jiu can safely withdraw before the reinforcements of the opponent's large forces arrive, the people behind him can break out of the encirclement on their own.
The most important thing about this matter is the race against time, so... Yingbu took the initiative to take on this task.
After the operation began, he took the lead and penetrated into the center of the enemy's encirclement, and immediately found the besieged Cao Jiu.
The soldiers he led rushed out of a temporary retreat channel.
"Quickly go! I'll cut off the queen!" Yingbu got off his horse and immediately shouted to Cao Jiu.
"General Yingbu!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Cao Jiu was a little hesitant.
Cutting off the queen was the most dangerous thing, not to mention that he was facing strong crossbowmen.
But there was no time to lose, so Yingbu immediately urged, "Hurry up! Execute the order!"
"...General, take care!"
Having said this, Cao Jiu no longer hesitated and immediately followed the large troops to evacuate.
The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. If he talks too much nonsense, both of them may have to get involved.
Yingbu waved two short swords and charged directly into the re-encircled Qin soldiers.
The crossbowman is indeed troublesome, but fortunately the terrain here is complex and mountainous, so he has room to maneuver.
With the current number of enemy troops, as long as Cao Jiu and the others wait for a moment or three to completely withdraw, he will be able to withdraw.
There is nothing wrong with their plan, but they have a plan, and so do the armor-piercing soldiers.
On the hillside not far away, Wang Li was riding a horse, observing the battlefield situation from a high position, with Zhang Han and Zhong Limei beside him.
Seeing Yingbu and others rushing into the battle to save others, Wang Li showed a satisfied smile.
Zhang Han and Zhang Han both had their own plans in mind as they watched the allies they had just made not long ago fall into danger.
Zhang Han's main consideration was whether there was any special meaning to Wang Li taking them both to see it - although Zhang Han didn't think Wang Li could know so quickly that they had reached a secret deal with Long Qie and others.
After thinking for a while, he took the initiative and said, "This is the Chu army... they are breaking out."
Wang Li smiled even more when he heard Zhang Han's reminder, without any sign of impatience, "The more fiercely the bait struggles, the more it attracts the attention of the big fish, doesn't it?"
All of this was originally a trap deliberately arranged by him.
In fact, the large force of armor-piercing soldiers had already gathered here, but they had remained hidden and pretended that reinforcements had not arrived.
Otherwise, it will scare the big fish hiding in the dark.
He didn't even know Cao Jiu, so it was almost impossible to capture or kill him.
He would not despise any amount of military merit he picked up for free, but if possible, Wang Li would naturally want more.