Chen Rulie whipped his horse on the buttocks, and the horse ran with all its strength, chasing after several fleeing bandits, and rushed into the wide open Qingliu Pass gate.
There were all kinds of bandits lying on the ground, and all kinds of horses and mules were resting in the streets. King Chen Yu galloped past him, swung his sword in his hand, and chopped off the head of the first bandit. When the bandits in the city saw the officers and soldiers, they immediately
Like a nest exploding, the exhausted bandits jumped up and screamed, scrambling for the horses and mules, and swarmed away toward the north gate.
Chen Rulie lowered the speed of his horse and chopped down the bandits around him. People in the streets screamed, and many bandits had no time to mount their horses, so they ran around in panic in the city.
"Drive them toward the north gate!"
King Chen Yu's voice came from not far away. Chen Rulie could not agree in time, so he led a few of his men to the left along the wall and entered a street. Bandits, numbering dozens in number, ran out of various houses in an endless stream.
Chen Rulie was shocked. If these people counterattacked, they could kill him and all the others, but those people actually ran northward in a swarm without even looking back, and dropped many silver ingots along the way.
Chen Rulie let out a strange cry to scare the horse soldiers, and then he rode his horse carefully into the north-south streets. There were shouts in the streets and alleys. Qingliu Pass is a long and narrow pass, and everyone in the city was informed of the arrival of the officers and soldiers.
There were still sporadic bandits escaping in front of them. When he saw a few people running away in panic, Chen Rulie touched the arrow insert and found that there was not a single arrow left in it. All the arrows were used up. On the way, he saw some bandits discarding them, but
There was no time to pick it up while chasing.
"Catch slower."
Chen Rulie ordered from behind, and several cavalrymen slowed down one after another.
A few people advanced carefully along the street, slashing and killing the scattered horse soldiers when they encountered them, and driving the numerous horse soldiers to flee north. They walked through the small Guancheng in no time. When they arrived at the north gate, Chen
King Yu also arrived at the same time.
The ground was a mess, with all kinds of rations, cloth, and white silver ingots everywhere.
The respective cavalrymen dismounted one after another and picked up silver ingots on the ground. Chen Rulie did not stop him, but he did not fight for it himself. After dismounting, he touched the horse's neck. It was covered with sweat and felt cold on his hands.
King Chen Yu respected his status, and the money obtained by his subordinates would naturally be shared with him, so he would not pick up the silver coins. After dismounting, he called four servants and asked them to return to the south city and close the city gate. After dismounting, he walked directly into the gate.
The door leaf has turned around.
Chen Rulie sat on the ground tiredly and drank water. The remaining thirteen cavalrymen were also very tired and dismounted and lay down on the roadside.
There were 70 cavalrymen when they landed at Puzikou. The chief officer was injured and returned to Anqing. Chen Rulie himself was also injured in several places. The cavalry bureau was almost exhausted. Now there are only a dozen people who can catch up here, and they are exhausted. But Pang Yu
Still letting them chase.
Although they had been riding horses, their backs were still soaked with sweat, and they felt very cold and uncomfortable. Especially the chase and killing in Guancheng just now, although the time was short, was extremely draining of physical strength.
Starting from the morning, the cavalry fought for a whole day, and pursued it at high speed for more than 30 miles from Wuliqiao to here. The total mileage was nearly a hundred miles. All the horses were sweating, and some of them were still wet.
After being captured on the battlefield and replaced, Qingliu Pass was recaptured, but today's battle may not be over yet.
Chen Rulie struggled to get up, took out the beans from the saddlebags on the horse's back, put them in the palm of his hand and stretched them in front of the horse's head. The horse stretched out its mouth to lick the beans. Chen Rulie was very skilled at this and was not worried about being bitten on his hand.
"Should we feed the horses ourselves?"
Chen Rulie looked back and saw King Chen Yu walking back, and quickly replied, "It's a rule set by Pang Pang. Our cavalry bureau doesn't have many auxiliary troops, and we don't bring them when we go on an expedition. We have to do the work of feeding and grooming the horses ourselves."
Activities.”
King Chen Yu snorted, seeming a little surprised, but after hearing that it was Pang Yuding who made the decision, he didn't say much.
"Master Chen, should we stay here?"
"Take a break and then chase."
King Chen Yu took the dry food sent by his men, took a bite and said, "From the time I came up to Guanshan, all the people I overtook on the way were those riding mules and donkeys. At most, they were bad horses. It can be seen that the thieves have all gone.
We have reached the front, and if we stay in this pass, we can only go up the wall to defend the city. This is the only way to survive. If the rogue infantry escapes, we may not be able to defend it."
There was stinging pain from the two wounds on his body, and Chen Rulie felt a wave of annoyance in his heart. He understood what King Chen Yu meant. Currently, their little cavalry was in a difficult position. The Liao army attacked the main force of the rogues, and the cavalry must have come from Wutu.
When pursuing the main road across the bridge, the road will be blocked by the fleeing infantry, and there are so many baggage in the camp that can be robbed, so the Liao cavalry cannot catch up with the rogue horse soldiers running ahead.
The garrison camp was crossing the river from Yedu Bridge to Guanshan. This cavalry might be just behind the rogue horse soldiers. In front was the main force of the fleeing horse soldiers, and behind was the fleeing rogue infantry. At this time, they could not retreat even if they wanted to.
Whether defending or pursuing, you need to continue fighting, and the physical exhaustion and tension have not been relieved.
The giant door latch of the gate was lying on the ground, and the guide really got it right.
It’s just that I don’t know whether it was opened by the defenders when they were escaping, or by the rogue bandits who came in. Qingliu Pass occupies a natural barrier and guards the only official road. If the officers and soldiers can securely guard the pass, the rogue bandits’ horsemen will be the turtles in the urn, trapped and dead on this pass.
.
If the bandits were not just running for their lives, they could rely on Guancheng to prevent the officers and soldiers from pursuing them, but it was a pity that they had no intention of doing so.
Chen Rulie cursed the officers and soldiers guarding the pass in his heart. If the defenders could hold Qingliu Pass, they would be able to block the main force of the rogue bandits on the south slope of Guan Mountain, and he would not be in such a situation.
"There are still seven miles to Zhulong Bridge."
King Chen Yu took out a ladle and poured some water into his mouth. "I have walked this road before, and I caught up with many thieves on bad horses. Those thieves are not much faster than us."
"Then Qingliu Pass will be occupied by rogue infantry again. If we don't defeat the rogues at Zhulong Bridge, we won't even be able to enter Guancheng when we come back."
King Chen Yu wiped the remaining water droplets from his mouth and said, "We cavalry are not here to defend the city."
Chen Rulie was a little hesitant. He actually didn't know how to defend the city, but he was in a situation where there were rogues in front and behind. If he could stay in the city, he could at least block the rogue infantry behind him. Now Chen Yuwang decided to chase the rogues in front.
The leader of the thieves, that's not just a few people, but at least two or three thousand cavalry.
He looked behind King Chen Yu and said, "Mr. Chen, we only have thirty cavalry. The number of cavalrymen who are chasing us will be thousands of thieves and cavalry..." King Chen Yu laughed a few times, looked at Chen Rulie and said, "
We only have thirty riders, and the bandits don’t know."
... At the northern foot of Guanshan Mountain in the northwest of Chuzhou, a stone-paved official road winds through dry trees, ending at a stone bridge. At this time, thousands of bandits on horseback were crowded for several miles in front and behind the bridge, and there was a lot of noise everywhere.
.
This is the Chuzhou Zhulong Bridge. It was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. The bridge is twenty feet three feet long and has seven bridge openings. The bridge deck is made of large logs connected to form a bridge shape. It is covered with soil and paved with stone slabs, with bricks on both sides.
Stone fence.
The Qingliu River still flows under the Zhulong Bridge. This place is located in the upper reaches of the Qingliu River. The water from the mountains around Chuzhou merges into the river. In summer, thousands of rivers surge. The Zhulong Bridge is the only channel across the river and is the throat of land transportation in Chuzhou.
Although the water dries up in winter, there is still water in a large river bed under the bridge, and the bridge deck is still the most important channel.
The north of the bridge leads to Dingyuan County, Fengyang Prefecture, and the south of the bridge is Guanshan. The situation along the fifteen miles to the south is dangerous, and Qingliu Pass guards the pass. The strategic situation in the west of Chuzhou revolves around this mountain and river.
On the north slope of Guanshan Mountain, about one mile away from the Zhulong Bridge, the little boy stopped his horse. The trees in front were covering him, but the bridge could already be seen from among the dead branches. There were many horsemen on the road, and they were traveling faster and faster.
Wait, there are more people coming from behind, many of them are bleeding and injured, and there is an atmosphere of panic in the queue.
There were various rumors circulating around. Some said that the Liao soldiers were not pursuing them, and some said that they had already reached Qingliu Pass. This made everyone even more panicked. Many people yelled and cursed, asking the cavalry soldiers in front to speed up.
There were all kinds of crying sounds around, and the little boy was a little irritable. Most of those crying were family members of the old camp. Zhang Xianzhong's horse soldiers of the old camp were the elite of the camp. They usually had two or three horses and mules, and they were marching and riding.
Mules or secondary horses. The main war horse is not used for riding at ordinary times and is only left to the care of the most trustworthy family members. When the horsemen are in battle, they will switch to better horses. When they are escaping, the family members will use those secondary horses or mules.
.
After escaping from Wuli Bridge, they crossed Xijian and fled along the official road to Guanshan in the northwest. Most of the Liao troops behind were blocked by the collapsed soldiers and lost a lot of silver and cloth.
The army is indeed small.
The defeated battalions on the way were in chaos, with various troops mingling together and fighting for the road. Even the relatively intact troops led by Liu Wenxiu were completely separated. The little boy hadn't seen Liu Wenxiu's flag for a long time, and he didn't even know whether it was in front of him or in front of him.
Behind him, the only person he still recognized nearby was his eldest son Er Locust.
Everyone was just focused on escaping, without saving any energy.
The difference in the quality of the mounts gradually became apparent. Some family members riding mules and inferior horses gradually fell behind. The fleeing cavalry soldiers of the old camp did not bother to wait. When they stopped here, everyone came to their senses and could not find their relatives and friends.
People started crying.
I fed a handful of black beans into the horse's mouth, and the horse started chewing it. The little kid looked around and saw that there was only a small wound on the horse, which had stopped bleeding. It was probably scratched by an arrow. Compared with the wounds on others,
The horses have already arrived.
Xiaowazi's horse was captured at Menghu Bridge. It was a good war horse, but he did not replace it. He participated in the fierce battle before noon today, ran many times at high speed, and ran dozens of miles in the afternoon.
Some are too much to bear.
The important thing is that the little boy doesn't know how far he has to run today. When he was defeated many times in the past, the old camp could run nearly two hundred miles in one day. It would take a long time for the little boy to get back to the team without a horse.
But I had never fought with officers and soldiers like this before, and I had lost a lot of horsepower before noon. At this time, the sky was getting dark, and I was afraid it was time to rest as soon as I crossed the bridge.
"Eat some dry biscuits first, we have to hurry up in the evening."
The sound of Two Locusts came from beside him. The little boy turned around quickly and saw Two Locusts handing over half a dry biscuit from his horse. He immediately took it and stuffed it into his mouth. At this time, he was hungry and thirsty, and he didn't even have anything to eat. All his belongings were
They were all on that mule cart. This time they were defeated and escaped alone. The losses were very heavy.
After chewing two mouthfuls, the little kid asked vaguely, "It's getting dark soon, I'm afraid I'll miss the master's place."
"I am following Mr. Lu Du on this trip. I have only traveled a few dozen miles and the ground is not enough. The Eighth Master must not stop until he reaches a hundred miles to feed the horse more."
Er Locust raised his head and looked forward. A woman with a child riding a bad horse was just in front of him. He observed for a moment that this woman seemed to be different from the others nearby. He cursed, "Get out of here!"
It has to be so slow.”
After saying this, he hit the horse and caught up two steps. He raised the scabbard and hit the woman's cheek fiercely. The woman grunted and fell off the horse, and the child cried loudly.
The two locusts pulled the reins and prepared to snatch the horse. Seeing that the child was still on the horse, they kicked towards the child again. Unexpectedly, the child was crying and holding on tightly and refused to get off. The two locusts could not exert their strength on the horse.
The child caught up and grabbed the child's legs and feet, pulled him down, carried him to the side of the road, and threw it out with both hands. The child hit a tree trunk with a bang, and his cry suddenly disappeared.
Such snatching was common in the bandit camp. The other horsemen around them ignored it and moved aside. At this time, the battalions were mixed together and they didn't know each other. No one wanted to meddle in other people's business.
After the little kid got on his horse, the two of them continued to follow the queue. Two Locusts came closer and said, "Take another horse. Who do you think will take it?"
After hearing this, the little kid turned around and looked around. The two locusts patted his hand and gestured to the left.
Over there is an old man with white hair, riding a mule. The mule looks quite strong, so he can run here from Wuli Bridge without falling behind. Moreover, the other horsemen are a little far away from him, so he looks like he is alone.
A good target to grab.
The old man was a bit stooped and not strong in appearance. His turban was in a mess and strands of white hair were scattered out.
The little kid was stunned when he looked at those white hairs. The two locusts turned their heads to look at him and touched them with their elbows.
"I have to rob this old man."
"Old man, this mule...is not good."
The little boy came back to his senses and looked at the two locusts, "It's better to grab a horse after dark."
"The mule is a close call. We'll wait until it gets dark."
The two locusts didn't pay attention. At this time, there was a noise from far behind. He immediately observed the surroundings vigilantly. At this time, he had to be prepared for someone to snatch their horses, and it would be even more brutal, because he had to be prepared for their counterattack. If someone took action
It must be a direct killing blow.
The little boy turned his head to look at the noisy place, and saw that the place that could be seen in the distance was suddenly crowded, with horse heads and people's heads piled together, and some people were screaming loudly.
The chaos expanded rapidly, and Xiaowazi faintly heard someone shouting, "The Liao army is coming." Er Locust and Xiaowazi looked at each other, and they drew out their knives at the same time and squeezed toward the bridge. People on the official road on the north slope of Guanshan shouted, "Horse."
Hiss, thousands of horsemen crowded together and rushed to Zhulong Bridge.