The two armies were still living side by side tonight, with much less fear and tension than last night.
But the confrontation between the scouts still continued, and from time to time, the sounds of weapons clashing and screams of injuries could be heard outside the camp.
They are too close. If we don’t send scouts to keep an eye on each other, who would dare to sleep?
The Yue cavalry was resting tonight, and there were Hu cavalry soldiers outside the camp. Liu Neng was in a good mood and doubled the number of troops. He was too excited to sleep at night. He took his guards out for a walk twice, but did not encounter any enemy scouts.
Very unwilling.
He rushed to the camp gate opposite and shot two sentries to death before going back to sleep with satisfaction.
What a bully!
Chunyu Qiong chose to be patient.
The enemy's reckless behavior must be deliberate seduction. If they send troops at night, they will definitely fall into a trap. There will be a gap between the soldiers and the night battle will be chaotic. They may be completely defeated.
A little impatience will ruin a big plan!
Bringing the army back is the top priority. With the defeat in the East China Sea and the corruption of the war on the Eastern Front, these soldiers have become the lord's last source of support and must not be destroyed in his own hands.
The next day, Chunyu Qiong's troops continued to march in formation. The Anping army's cavalry took turns to rest and get some sleep. The civilians chopped firewood and fished. The general promised to reward the troops in the evening and they could eat meat together.
.
Unfortunately, most of them have never eaten meat. If General Liu hadn't shown his kindness, they might never know what meat tastes like.
Hey, just thinking about eating meat at night gives me strength to work.
Time passed quickly amidst the chattering of everyone, and it was night in a blink of an eye. Today, I walked ten miles and made progress. Chunyu Qiong was very happy. The formation became more and more familiar. He also made some adjustments during the march.
, the effect is okay.
"Liu Yicheng, arrogant soldiers will be defeated. When our army gets familiar with the formation drills, I will give you a surprise." He thought silently in his heart.
After solving the problem of declining morale, he became more determined. After careful consideration, he must fight a battle, otherwise it would be difficult to escape. The enemy was waiting for the infantry behind to come to join him, and he was also waiting for his side to cross the river.
At that time, soldiers were eager to return home. If they were to cover up the enemy in the rear, most of them would run away desperately in an attempt to cross the river quickly, and few would turn around to resist.
The fighters he can see can also be seen by the other side.
Before this, the enemy was unwilling to fight him desperately, so he wanted to seize this opportunity, practice his formation, and fight hard before crossing the river.
This is his vitality.
After understanding this truth, Chunyu Qiong was happy and finally found a way out.
But strangely, the camp opposite was much happier than him. The bonfire was lit like stars, the sound of laughter and frolic could be heard in his camp three miles away, and no scouts came to kill anyone.
Why is this?
"Send additional scouts to get closer to the opposite camp to investigate."
Chun Yuqiong's order cost more than 60 lives of his subordinates. The news came out that the troops on the opposite side were eating meat to reward the troops. There were many sentries, both light and dark, and most of the people who came close were shot dead.
"Send more men on night watch to prevent fraud." The enemy's defenses were tight and there was no chance of a sneak attack. Chunyu Qiong continued to deduce the formation in the tent.
Another sleepless night.
The soldiers in the camp went to bed early, and it was not easy to march in formation while fully armed.
On the contrary, the Anping Army camp was very noisy. Today, more than fifty pigs and more than sixty sheep were killed. Including the civilian husbands, each person received at least half a catty of meat and was skewering it in batches around the campfire.
There are also stewed bones and offal soup.
The fresh fish caught by the people during the day were also stewed in soup. Without professional fishing tools, the number caught was not large, so each team could only divide a few fish into soup and drink them.
They ate fish soup, bone soup, grilled meat and offal, and the whole army was very happy.
Especially the three thousand civilians who accompanied the army, their mouths were full of oil.
"I've also eaten meat. It's still good meat. It's a pity that I can't take it back with me. I really want my family to try it." An old man in his late forties sighed with emotion, thinking about his wife and children at home.
Tears almost fell.
As soon as these words came out, many people nearby couldn't help but sigh. The world is becoming more and more difficult, and ordinary people like them in Guizhou cannot have enough to eat, let alone meat, wild vegetables, and bran.
The fellow countryman who was with him bumped his shoulder: "Eat quickly, drink more broth after eating the meat."
It’s not easy to get a chance to eat meat. It’s a serious matter to eat more.
The peasants ate meat sullenly, breaking open the bones used to make the soup to suck out the marrow, leaving not even a drop of broth left. The people who made the soup had to add more water, boil it again and drink it, leaving no trace of oil.
Don't waste.
I don't know if I will ever have the chance to taste meat again in this life, and they cherish it very much.
The soldiers of the Anping Army often had fish and meat to improve their meals, and were laughing around the campfire. Some lively ones were performing martial arts for Pao Ze, holding swords, shields, firewood and sticks, and danced blindly, causing a burst of laughter.
Some people got interested and grabbed their companions to fight against each other.
Liu Xiang gnawed on the mutton chops while watching the soldiers play, cheering from time to time.
Cui Yi continued to show his shameless spirit, picked a lamb, and brought it back to make roasted whole lamb. Liu Xiang and Zhao Jing happened to follow Zhan Guang, and Yan Gang and Liu Neng also took advantage.
Eating very happily.
A meal of meat, a half-night of fun, and a boost in morale are not to mention it. The third battalion of cavalry in the Chinese army did not need to rely on eating meat to boost morale, but a campfire dinner did relieve the tense mood of the soldiers.
The officers and soldiers of the Chinese army were all small rich men, and they would not become so happy after a few mouthfuls of soup for half a pound of meat. They took this opportunity to vent their pressure and show their bravery in front of Liu Xiang.
.
In the next few days, Chunyu Qiong continued to march during the day, practicing formations, patrolling camps at night, and deducing formation arrangements. Her eyes were filled with bloodshot eyes, her expression became more and more tired day by day, and her body became thinner and thinner.
My belly has flattened out.
This journey to lose weight has been a tough one.
King Chen's elite troops had captured Xiao County and sent back intelligence that Yuan Shao had built two pontoon bridges on the Bin River in the north of Pengcheng County. They tried to destroy them, but were repulsed.
Guangqi and Liuxian also surrendered one after another, and 20,000 infantry went south and have joined the cavalry.
Liu Chong wanted to annihilate Chunyu Qiong's 30,000-strong army on the north bank of Bin River. Liu Xiang agreed, but did not approach the enemy camp again.
After exerting pressure for several days, the enemy showed no signs of attacking, and there were infantry of poor quality around them. If we stayed too close, we were afraid that they would be confused first.
The camps of the two armies were five or six miles apart, and they marched more than ten miles every day, silently waiting for the decisive battle.
Guan Yu's battle report was also sent a few days ago. Fu Yang was defeated. After three days of siege, Le Jin led his troops to ascend first and captured more than 8,000 civilians, young and strong, and seized 120,000 shi of grain.
Submit a letter to ask for instructions. The next step is to go south to threaten Pengcheng, or to go east to join Zhang Liao, wipe out the Yellow Turbans, and capture Tan County.
Liu Xiang replied, and first escorted the prisoners back to Kaiyang, handed them over to Xun Yu, and sent them to Liaodong to open up wasteland.
The total number of prisoners in Pingyin and Fuyang was nearly 40,000. With them dragging them with them, it would be unsafe to move southward or eastward.
After arranging the prisoners, the former army marched south to Pengcheng, and Yue Jin's troops supported Zhang Liao.
On March 15th, still twenty miles away from Bin River, Chunyu Qiong's troops stopped moving forward, backed up to Si River, and set up a formation to challenge.
Liu Chong wanted to send troops for a decisive battle.
Liu Xiang intervened and said: "The closer the enemy army gets to the Binshui River, the more confused the soldiers will be. They dare not go any further and want to fight to the death. After repelling our army, they will march another twenty miles to cross the river and enter the city."
.
Why should our army accept the challenge? They gave up most of their baggage at the Paoshui camp, and they didn't take away much supplies when they stayed in the county. They must be short of food now and are very anxious."
"Our army will drag them to death here?" Liu Chong stroked his gray beard and felt that it made sense.
Liu Xiang shook his head: "It is impossible to drag him to death, but if the confrontation continues, the enemy will either leave the river bank and take the initiative to attack, or leave some troops and horses and cut off their tails to survive. There is no need to fight now. Whatever the enemy wants to do, we will never let them get their way.
Just use the light cavalry to keep an eye on it and drag it down, which will be beneficial to our army."
Yuan Shao had insufficient troops and had to guard against Guan Yu's troops heading south. He was unable to rescue them. Chunyu Qiong had no choice but to save himself. He did not dare to approach the pontoon bridge on the Bin River hastily for fear of losing morale.
At this time, why do you have to rush forward to fight decisively?
Wouldn't it be nice to see the enemy troops in chaos from a distance of five or six miles?
After three days of confrontation, Chunyu Qiong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. It had been twelve days since the camp was soaked in water and the troops retreated. In the past ten days, he had hardly slept, and from time to time he felt his eyes getting dark.
This was nothing, he could still hold on, but there was not enough food. In order to speed up the march, he did not bring much military rations at the beginning, and the supply had already been halved. Even so, he had no food.
Pengcheng sent people to deliver food, but all was burned by the enemy's cavalry. As a result, more than half of his cavalry were lost, and the hundreds of cavalry on the lord's side suffered even greater losses.
We have to go, we have to go. The plan to retreat calmly after a decisive battle has failed, and it is inevitable that we will be injured.
"Come here, give me the order to kill all the pack horses pulling the cart. Let's have a feast tonight and fight to the death tomorrow!"
The oxen and donkeys that pulled the cart have long been eaten. I wanted to keep the pack horses, but it seems that I can't keep them. The soldiers fight on an empty stomach, which means they are going to die.
"General, are you going to charge forward to fight the enemy tomorrow?" Jiang Qi's shoulders and arms were wrapped in linen. He had previously supported the food delivery team and fought with the enemy's cavalry, and was seriously injured.
"So what if we don't fight? Do we have to sit back and wait for death?"
Everyone understands the truth. If you rush up, you will leave the river, and the enemy cavalry can rush into the formation unscrupulously. The damage will be great, and the entire army is very likely to be annihilated.
If we retreat directly to the pontoon, the soldiers' originally low fighting spirit will inevitably fade away, and the enemy will cover them from behind, and they may collapse immediately.
Now that the matter has come to a point, the best way is to keep people behind, but Chunyu Qiong cannot force him. Those who stay will definitely die. If he gives the order forcefully, will he force them to surrender to the enemy?
That can't be done.
"My army would like to stay behind and ask the general to lead the main force first." Lu Kuang stood up and asked for orders.
His younger brother Lu Xiang objected: "My brother will leave first, and someone will come and stop him."
Lu Kuang glared, and the bloodline suppressor who was his brother appeared: "Shut up, sit down." Lu Xiang almost burst into tears, leaving a broken queen with a narrow escape, but he couldn't argue with his brother in front of outsiders, or he would lose the Lu family.
's face.
Someone took the initiative to cut off the rear. How could Chunyu Qiong object? He borrowed the help of a donkey down the slope and said, "Lv Jun is very righteous. I feel deeply in my heart. Your troops are not strong enough, so I will send people to help."
After speaking, he turned around and glanced at the generals, and loudly ordered: "Cao Bao, your troops will assist Captain Lu in cutting off the rear."